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BY 

CLARA VIOLA FLEHARTY 

t X\ . 

Author of “ Life’s Blue and Gray,” 

“A Wild Rose ” 


Study nature, elevate y ourselves to the laws 
that govern it, and make of it, as it were, a living 
truth: The more profoundly you understand its 
laws, the nearer you approach to God. 

Study, above all, humanity: Humanity is 
greater than nature, and knows Him, while 
nature is ignorant of Him. 

— M. V. Cousins. 


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Chicago, Illinois : 

M. A. LONG BOOK AND PUBLISHING HOUSE 

1907 


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U6RARY «f CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 

NOV 25 1 90? 

Copyri*nt Entry 

CLASS /4- XXc, Nb. 

f <7 O m 7 


COPY 


Copyright, by 
Clara Viola Fleharty 
1907 


DeOication 


So 

l£on. 00. <©. lBtace 

CEratUifatfier 

22Hbose sturbp manboob, tiotyettyei as a pribate 
citizen or in tfye balte of tb.e ^legislature, com* 
manbeb tye esteem of all tobo bneto l?im» 


So 60p “Belobeb 2lncle 

l^on. '§>. jF. JFIefcartp 

22111)0 bore binwlf upon tb* battlefielb as be* 
came a gallant officer* 

Mii)O y upon tye larger battlefielb of life, \xfytxz 
moral questions tnere at tissue, toas eber a pro* 
nounceb champion of ti)c right* 

22Ui)o, in ti)e balls of Congress, anb as a toriter 
of marbeb abilitp, toas bistinguiseb for all that is 
noblest anb best in manboob* 

3 acfmotolebge mp bebt of gratitube to tbeoe 
strong tppes of manboob, anb reberentlp bebteate 
tb^oe pages to tbnr memorp* 

Sbeir granb baugbter anb niece, 

Clara $io!a jflebartp* 


THE CLOUDS OF GOD. 


‘The city is full of labor 

And struggle and strife and care; 

The fever pulse of the city 
Is throbbing in all the air ; 

But calm through the sunlit spaces 
And calm through the starlit sky, 

Forever over the city, 

The clouds of God go by. 

‘The city is full of passion, 

And shame, and anger, and sin ; 

Of hearts that are dark with evil, 

Of souls that are black within. 

But white as the robes of angels 
And pure as the wind swept sky, 

Forever over the city, 

The clouds of God go by. 

‘The city is full ef sorrow 

And tears that are shed in vain; 

By day and night there rises 
The voice of its grief and pain; 

But soft as a benediction 
They bend from the vault on high, 

And over the sorrowful city 
The clouds of God go by. 

‘O eyes that are old with vigil ! 

O eyes that are dim with tears ! 

Look up from the path of sorrow 
That measures itself in years, 

And read in the blue above you 
The peace that ever is nigh, 

While over the troubled city 
The clouds of God go by.” 


PREFACE. 


I N presenting this book to the public, the author 
does so through a strong conviction that life 
should be painted in its reality, and that the 
time is ripe for literature of the day to deal with 
facts more and fancy less. That did we expect life 
to be a mixture of disappointments and joys, we 
would be less liable to sink under the weight of the 
sudden blighting of our fairest dreams, and would 
take it as we find it, with a more philosophical view, 
greater faith that all is a part of life’s discipline, 
with sure hope that sorrow will pass away, and 
with greater fortitude to endure; “for the darkest 
night is hedged about with daybreak roses.” Thus 
Browning’s courageous view point might be at- 
tained, for while facing life’s stern realities he ex- 
pressed himself in the following: “While I see day 
succeed the deepest night, how can I speak but as 
I know? My speech shall be throughout the dark- 
ness ; it will end , the light that did burn, will burn ” 
It is not a fine spun theory to say that life is a 
grand oratorio. We all play some part whether 
cognizant of it or not. 

Shall it be a discordant one and mar the music 
of the whole? 

This, the question that each human soul must 
determine. 

In the portrayal of some dark picture the author 
trusts the reader will never lose consciousness that 
5 


6 


A STUDY IN LIFE TIN'ib. 


the undertone is one of hope, which shines through 
the whole scheme of human life, of faith in the Infi- 
nite Lover, who is ready to illuminate the darkness 
of all who are receptive, and of firm belief that this 
Power Divine will bring ultimate victory out of 
life’s strange lessons if we but yield to its guidance. 

But to those who have not caught the inner mes- 
sage, or are bowed under injustice and sorrow, it 
must seem a mockery to speak of life as a sym- 
phony, for at times to us all the strains unfold 
in sad perplexed minors, and we murmur : ‘Where 
is any certain time or measured music in such notes 
as these? But angels leaning from their golden 
seat are not so minded, their fine ear hath caught 
the issue of completed cadences — and smiling down 
the stars they whisper — Sweet.’ 

But from our limited view point, life is often a 
troublesome mystery that we cannot solve, and it 
is difficult to discover any poetry, much less hear 
the song. Nerves have been stretched in tightest 
tension and our heart strings played upon by rude 
hands. Thus in the whirl and worry of life we 
seem rendered incapable of hearing anything but 
jar and discord. We cannot measure the weary 
lines and are too dull to catch the rhythm; but it 
is there, for God writes the words, and He is har- 
mony. 

In moments of despair the cloud of witnesses, 
including earth’s grandest characters down all the 
ages, come to us with the assurance that in spite of 
the sin, want, and suffering, life is worth the living ; 
and to the soul who struggles to overcome — at last 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


7 


the poem that was being written out all along the 
years of our earth pilgrimage is set to music and 
belongs to the grand chant of the universe. 

Perhaps ’tis only a low note, a humble part some 
of us fill, but shall that be wanting when the Master 
Musician listens to the rendition of the completed 
chorus ? 

We may also consider Life as a beautiful picture, 
of which some one gives us the exquisite thought : 
“A picture is a poem without words.” 

Every lovely scene is full of lights and shadows, 
the shadows being most essential in bringing out 
the beauty of the whole. 

Thus we may come at length to the realization 
that the shadows which have touched us as we 
climb some rugged steep, the rocks that barred our 
way, the thorns that tore us as we passed, seen by 
light of closing day, form a picture at the last ! 

But neither song, poetry, nor picture, can we dis- 
cover when caught in some hurricane of life. 

. Our craft is so frail, the waves as they mount 
heavenward will surely overwhelm us, and our 
hearts faint as we catch the roar of the breakers ! 
Onward we are driven ! Downward it seems. Would 
to God it were onward and upward ! 

We become breathless as the spray kisses our 
cheek. How can such a fragile bark ride these bil- 
lows, outride the storm? 

Courage my soul ! Hearest thou that Voice of 
power, yet thrilling sweetness? “Peace, peace, be 
still !” and the turbulance of wind and wave is 
hushed. 


8 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Tis thus the storms and passions of life are 
stilled and we are brought into our desired haven, 
not beyond the sunset, but here and now into the 
port where with clarified vision we can see the 
rainbow. 

For Love has shone upon our teardrops and 
transformed them into wondrous tints that glorify 
our sky. 

Alas ! that we have lived so oft “in the middle of 
our aches,” as to miss many of these bows of 
promise. 

It is said of the rainbow, “It is like the calm wing 
of Deity unfurled, it bends from the cloud and 
encircles the world.” 

Thus it bends over each lonely life with its mes- 
sage of hope, and the story of the rainbow is God’s 
beautiful pledge written upon earth’s night, “to 
tell the tired world that rainbows shall not die.” 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Chapter I. 

Somber skies, colorless save for an occasional hint 
of dark blue, the atmosphere chill and damp, a day 
that made would-be pedestrians postpone their 
goings forth, if possible, a dark day in the city, 
when people plodded onward with deeper care 
lines engraved on faces that showed little of light 
and still less of hope, faces that attracted a hu- 
manity student, because of the stories so plainly 
traceable therein. 

On this dull gray day, the slow rain was coming’ 
down with its monotonous drip, drip, as if it had 
forgotten the merry dash and sparkle of its power, 
and was silently shedding tears over the tragedy 
called Life. 

Passing along the crowded thoroughfare, was 
a person who seemed ordinary enough in dress 
and general appearance. Nothing striking about 
the figure, if you do not catch a glimpse of the 
keen blue eyes, a plain face, with lines of care, 
although the step is springing, and you discover 
that not over thirty-five years have burdened him 
with their weight. Why, in a crowded street, 
should one be so strangely impressed with that 
face out of many more handsome? 

9 


10 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


By the law of intuition, of instantaneous flashing 
of the truth, you know that man not only has a 
history, but is making history. In other words, 
is living a life of real force and use in the world. 

Some strength has come from that momentary 
passing, and your inspiration is a true one, as you 
murmur : “One of earth’s uncrowned heroes.” 

Why that feeling? Whence that revelation? 

May one safely follow their impressions? 

If of a highly imaginative temperament, it may 
be illusion, but a sane well-balanced mind often 
receives as plants do the moisture, the true impres- 
sions, which Emerson terms the emphasis of the 
soul which is always right. 

That great souls often recognize each other in- 
stantly, has long been an established axiom. 

Non-receptive minds seldom experience mental 
telepathy and spirit recognition. 

But amid the hurrying crowd on this dull Novem- 
ber day, above the confused street cries, and cease- 
less rumble of traffic, suddenly from an entrance 
float out sweet voices, hymning strains whose tones 
soothe the unquiet of the heart and brighten the 
eye with a gleam of cheer. 

It is the same mysterious spell that footsore dis- 
heartened soldiers upon the battlefield experienced, 
when the band began to play, how the weary steps 
quickened. 

Now, through the half-opened doorway came 
the refrain: “He will keep me till the river rolls 
its waters at my feet.” The door closed, but in 
the minds of several lingered the words with a 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


11 


charm like a breath from the wooded hills of home. 

Down the street to his office passed a well-dressed 
business man, arriving there many claims pressed 
upon him, but ever above them sang an angel voice : 
“He will keep me till the river rolls its waters at 
my feet.” An unwonted moisture came in his eyes, 
what did it mean, this incessant refrain? Softly it 
sang — slowly dying- away, then coming nearer as 
if bent upon claiming full attention, receding only 
to come again with more insistent force. 

“This is tiresome ! I cannot focus my mind upon 
anything for that confounded song!” He lit a 
cigar and sought solace in its fascinations, but over 
and above him, round about, pervading the very 
atmosphere, sang now a multitude and then a 
single voice, childlike in its trust and sweetness. 

Angered at last by the apparent hopelessness of 
escape, he hastily donned overcoat and hat and 
passed to the busy street below. “A brisk walk 
will cure me of any morbid fancies,” he mentally 
asserted. 

But the same spirit of fascination drew him to 
the spot where the song had first caused an arrest 
of thought. All was silent, but a bulletin announced 
that a convention of unusual interest was in pro- 
gress. Yielding to a strange impulse to enter, he 
found a seat near the door, intending to slip back 
to his office after a brief investigation. But a finely 
rendered violin solo held him, which was followed 
by the appearance on the platform of an intelligent 
looking young woman. Not maidenly beauty, for 
life had held too stern lessons for her to retain the 


12 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


girlish freshness, but a charm that far exceeded 
youthful roundness was evinced in every move- 
ment. 

“’Twas a glimpse into that soft second summer 
of womanhood more ripe than the first, when the 
bud to the blossom has burst, in despite of the 
stormiest April.” 

Not a feature possibly that -artist would choose 
as a model, but a face strong and so expressive 
that every glance, made one feel ‘she has lived 
deeply, suffered alone, and speaks from the deep 
fountain of her heart. A world of pain has been 
hers, but she now stands forth its conqueror/ 

This was the personality that gave added weight 
to her words. 

“Why are we here? Because we believe we are 
right, and that conviction gives us courage to face 
the world. Because everywhere over this land 
women’s voices are pleading for better protection 
for the home. 

“Think ! Is it any wonder that the true mother 
heart entreats you to use the utmost powers of 
your manhood to change conditions?” 

“Do we stand here to pose before the world as • 
reformers ? Do we expose pur womanhood to 
slight ?” 

“No! We come here to beseech of you in God’s 
name to make it easier for coming generations to 
do right.” 

“Do you proclaim us as unwomanly in this?” 

“I marvel much if this view obtains when you 
consider those blighted buds of womanhood who 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


13 


are doomed by society to remain forever upon its 
outskirts, and under the hopeless shadow that only 
the death angel can give release to. Again I say, 
is it not time for pure womanhood to plead with 
you for better safeguards for the nestlings of the 
home ?” 

“Do you still ask why we are here ?” 

“Because we are tired of waiting.” 

“When womanhood is called by you to go down 
into the valley of the shadow and ‘help God find a 
life,’ that your name may be perpetuated. When you 
allow conditions to be such that our babies are 
stolen from our arms, when our fairest girls go 
into the world and are sent back to us outcasts, 
do you not think it time to appeal to the best in 
manhood ?” 

“You reply: ‘Take care of the girls.’ But we 
stand here to say ive refuse to bear the responsi- 
bility alone!” 

“Rise in the strength of your manhood and help 
us.”* 

The cultured business man on the rear seat had 
listened spellbound. The muscles of his face moved 
visibly. At times one might almost have asserted 
that a painful struggle was ensuing. 

A hasty glance at his watch brought him to the 
realization of time and place. He had neglected 
business for nearly an hour. And for what? ‘A 
foolish whim !’ he thought. 

“When I catch myself displaying such a fool s 

*Note— Several thoughts are quoted in this address because of 
their helpfulness. 


14 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


part as this again it will be when my name ceases 
to be Alexander.” 

He walked hurriedly down the street as if to 
quell any rising emotions and plunged into the 
vortex of business with feverish eagerness. 


Chapter II. 


“Not one of them falleth without our Father's 
knowledge.” 

“Do you believe that, Trueman?” 

“Yes, I do.” 

“Then how can this terrible waste of life go 
on, and on, apparently without His care?” 

“Ah ! I see you insert the word apparently. That 
is well. Can we poor finite beings fathom the Infi- 
nite One and say He does not know or care? His 
word says so, and upon that we must plant our 
feet.” 

“True, true !” returned his friend, “but I con- 
fess, when I daily hear the wrong side of life, it 
does seem at times as if the cry and moan that 
constantly ariseth from innocent victims is un- 
heeded.” 

Trueman drew himself up to his full height. 
Strong conviction shone in his face and added 
weight to his words, as he said in a firm tone, 
yet reverently, “I believe God that it shall be 
even as was told me from the Lord.” There’s my 
creed, my declaration of hope for the world 
summed up in that. I stand upon it. There is no 
other place for my faith to rest upon. God will 
eventually right these wrongs. He must as truly 
as He is God.” 


15 


16 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“Amen !” responded his listener. “But it seems 
a weary wait. Go with me to the place I have 
just left and see if your faith in the final outcome 
of things is not transformed into a burning cry for 
the coming of the kingdom now!” 

“Agreed !” 

After several changes of cars the gentlemen 
arrived at a place which had once been the abode 
of wealth and culture. Remains of former grand- 
eur greeted the eye, and it almost seemed that 
ghosts of the dead past peeped out from behind 
the faded hangings, beseeching the visitors to res- 
cue the once loved home from the den of wicked- 
ness into which it had degenerated. 

Were family ties, pure and holy, once known 
within its walls? 

Did childhood in all its crystal purity ever play 
upon that grand staircase? 

Was that retreat between the window once the 
favorite haunt of happy lovers? 

To the pure minded men who now breathed its 
atmosphere, this seemed incredible, yet such was 
the case. Rollicking, happy children had romped, 
in those once beautiful rooms. A sweet faced, 
motherly woman had presided over the house. A 
sturdy, true man had been its head. From its sacred 
precincts the little white caskets had been carried. 

In the spacious parlors had gathered many a 
happy party of the highest type of manhood and 
womanhood. 

Yonder under the great chandelier had hung a 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


17 


wedding bell that pealed forth silver chimes as the 
life march of the fair daughter of the home began. 

Is it possible this ill-ventilated place, reeking 
with filth, is the same? 

O, sweet shades of the past! Return not to wit- 
ness the demolition of your earthly paradise, unless 
in so doing your presence cleanse the atmosphere 
and act as guardian angels to the poor little ones 
whom destiny leaves here. 

In one corner, around the once magnificent fire- 
place, a group of men were seated, smoking pipes 
and emptying bottles. 

No need to scan their faces. A glance was suffi- 
cient to bring a shudder to any clean-minded 
person. 

The next room bore marks of a late repast, and 
about the remains were hovering wan-eyed chil- 
dren with that terrible old look so appalling in those 
of tender years. A look of cunning was plainly 
visible on many of the little faces. Babies toddled 
about in innocence, it is true, but with neglect so 
plainly stamped upon them it seemed it would move 
the very fiend himself to have mercy upon their 
helplessness. 

A dark-eyed girl lounged in one corner, a detec- 
tive story in hand. 

A glance showed a pale face but a terrible pair 
a flashing black eyes. 

As the visitors advanced they were met by one 
of those fierce looks from which they could but 
recoil, but as she recognized a friend in one of 


18 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


them, the glance softened to a look of interest, 
while her face expressed melancholy in the ex- 
treme, as if gladness and youthful buoyancy were 
forever fled. 

“Hattie, this is my friend, Mr. Trueman.” 

The girl gave an indifferent nod toward the 
stranger and then turned her keen eyes upon her 
friend, as she said in a plaintive voice : “Mr. Kings- 
ley, are you going to do anything for Marion? 
Don’t bother about me. It’s too late to do any- 
thing for me ; but you can save Marion. Then 
why,” rising to her feet .and the fierce look again 
darkening her face, “ Why don’t you do it?” 

“There! Be still, Hattie, and listen to what I 
say. We are doing all that we can for little Marion, 
and we will not give you up, either. But these things 
are slow. Ever since I heard your life story I have 
been bending every energy toward bettering your 
condition.” 

“Talk not of me! I tell you it is too late. I am 
sixteen years old to-day. Would you think it?” 

Mr. Trueman had watched the girl with feelings 
of interest and sympathy. 

She seemed hardly more than a child, yet in her 
intensity of feeling and the fierce look that played 
over her face so frequently, she appeared far in 
the twenties. 

“No; don't come here to try to reform me. I 
tell you it is everlastingly too late. I’m a doomed 
creature; but save my little sister. She is good. 
Keep her so !” 

The girl dropped down on a chair dejectedly. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


19 


Trueman touched his friend’s arm. “Take me 
out of this. I can bear no more.” 

When revived by the pure air of God’s out of 
doors, Trueman could hardly speak rapidly enough 
to give vent to his feelings. “For heaven’s sake, 
Kingsley, tell me the story of that poor child. I 
feel as if her eyes will haunt me to my dying day. 
Can we not take her out of that place ? What about 
her little sister? O God!” he exclaimed, with all 
reverence,, “how can these things be?” 

Leaving Mr. Kingsley to impart the story of 
this wounded bird, we drop into a neat but 
unpretending building. Everything of the plainest 
kind in furniture and decorations. Still you are 
struck with the general atmosphere of refinement 
and wholesomeness. A large room with swings 
and various kinds of apparatus informs you of a 
gymnasium. You ascend the narrow stairway and 
find pleasant, sunny rooms and a group of girls 
busily engaged in sewing. 

Two young women of culture, and with strong 
character revealed in their faces, are imparting 
instruction to little girls with tangled hair, hair 
that would be beautiful under the deft touch of a 
loving mother. But alas ! whose little heads had 
never known such gentleness, much less their 
hearts the warmth of mother love. 

A study of these faces as they circle about their 
teachers is well worth our time ; but we pause only 
with one. A mat of dark locks that would curl 
and twist into the most charming ringlets, as if 
defying its environment to despoil its beauty. 


20 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS .' 


Pushing back the wayward curls, a very good 
forehead is revealed, and you look into a pair of 
gray eyes that are honest and appealing, if not 
beautiful. Something strange — intensity it may 
be — burns in the eyes as they are again bent upon 
their work. 

So attracted are you to this child, you hardly 
notice when the work is folded away and the little 
circle are singing, until you catch a sudden bright- 
ening of the hitherto cloudy face before you. The 
hopelessness and 'don’t care’ look have vanished. 
The child is transformed. She is singing with all 
her might. Her soul is in her face and she stands 
forth for the moment, the being God meant her to 
be, earnestness and strength lighting up every 
feature. 

After the song the children reluctantly departed, 
most of them lingering to follow their teachers to 
the car. Little Marion was the last to go, clinging 
to the kind hand that held hers after the car was 
in motion. 

“I wish I could always live with her!” exclaimed 
the small lady, drawing the ragged looking cloak 
about her to hide the still more forlorn looking 
dress beneath. 

“I could be as good as she is if I had a chance.” 
But as she drew near the place called home — “I 
hate to live here. I’ve always hated it. I wasn’t 
bigger than Tommy when I tried to run away. 
There’s the youngsters screaming. I wonder who’s 
killed now ! Poor toddlers ! I love them, and Hattie, 
too, when her eyes are not wild and scare me. But 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


21 


Miss Homesworth is an angel and God must love 
her a sight more than He does the rest of us, 
’cause her pa never swore at hen I don’t believe 
she ever heard a bad word all her days. Still, pa’s, 
a angel himself alongside of ma.” 

She concluded the last sentence with a grin hid- 
eous to behold, so utterly was it lacking in respect 
for the one called mother. 

As she disappeared within the foul place, her 
face lost all trace of the exalted look of a few 
moments previous. It was replaced by one of open 
defiance and dogged looking stubbornness. 

One of many a hungry crowd who get a glimpse 
of something higher, and then by force of circum- 
stances stronger than they are skilled to meet, are 
thrust back into the teeming whirlpool of evil. 


Chapter III. 


A sweet-faced child at the window, wonderingly 
watching the raindrops; inside the cheery room 
two other children playing. 

A sudden pause in the hilarity. “Vera Trueman, 
you needn’t ’spect God to answer your prayers 
ever !” 

The culprit thus addressed looked up with any- 
thing but terror in her merry face. 

“I guess God likes me ’bout as much as He 
does you, and what about your praying?” 

Truly how like the criticism of some children 
of larger growth. 

“Well, I saw God emptying all the water buckets 
and tubs He had, just now.” 

Vera, deeply interested. “Did 
you? Why didn’t you tell me 
in time to see?” 

“ ’Cause I am ‘Mrs. Be done 
by as you did,’ and you never 
told me when you went out to 
sail your paper boats in the mud 
puddles.” 

“Well, if you didn’t stick so 
tight to your ‘Water Babies,’ or 
some other old book, I’d ’vited you.” 

“To do to others as I would that they should 
22 



A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


23 


do to me will make me always kind and good as 
children ought to be,” warbled a sweet voice, as 
a bright looking young woman came into the room 
and was immediately surrounded by the three small 
people and quite overpowered by the numerous 
arms and as many small limbs that scrambled and 
clung, while a rain of kisses threatened to eclipse 
the outdoor patter. 

“O mama ! God is so busy spilling water all 
over the earth I don’t believe He will notice a bit 
if I don’t get my Sunday school lesson. I do want 
to finish ‘Water Babies.’ I hate to study my Sun- 
day school lesson anyway !” 

“Mamma, God will answer my prayers soon as 
He will Gladys’, won’t He? She said He wouldn’t.” 

“Me too love mamma, Dod and everybody !” 
piped a shrill little voice, as the baby finally suc- 
ceeded in establishing herself in the post of honor, 
on mamma’s lap. 

“Oh, you little blessings !” laughed mamma, as 
she smoothed her hair and replaced some falling- 
pins. “I think you are the sweetest trio on earth !” 
She gave the baby a hug* and kissed the cheek of 
the two children who clung* about her neck. 

“Come on, mamma, please, and let me read you 
‘Water Babies’,” begged the book worm of the 
family. 

“No! We are going to play Queen Mamma and 
that we are all royal princesses,” asserted Vera, 
whose ceaseless activity sometimes drove her 
mother nearly frantic. 

“I’se doin’ to be your ’tween, Ve, and mamma 


24 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 



our ’ittle dirl,” chirped the ever responsive baby, 
who was peacemaker in all family jars. 

But with tact worthy of a diplomat, the mother 
conciliated her rebellious subjects, uniting all in 
a common cause by the suggestion, “Suppose we 
make some candy for papa?” 

Down stairs they rushed, even Gladys forgetting 
her beloved book in the desire to surprise papa. 


Many consider such things too much trouble, 
but this young matron felt that the cultivation of 
thoughtfulness for others was well worth the hour’s 
time. 

“But the sticky fingers and clothes!” exclaimed 
Mrs. Nicety to Mrs. Trueman one day, when she 


A, STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


25 


chanced to call and was invited into the scene of ju- 
venile activities. “How do you stand it, Mrs. True- 
man? I never could!” And she smoothed down the 
curls of a beautiful looking child at her side, 
who was dressed like a fairy, but whose lovely 
eyes had a wistful look as she gazed longingly at 
the dancing tots before her, who, reveling in long 
sleeved aprons, were stirring maple sugar into a 
creamy foam. 

Gladys and Vera had become quite adepts, and 
delighted the little visitor by pouring the sugar 
into heart-shaped tins and presenting them to her. 

“Here’s our hearts, O take and keep them !” 
sang Vera, as she danced up to her little caller. 

“Vera!” said mamma, reprovingly. 

“Well, they sang that at church, so it’s a good 
song,” responded the daring little mischief, whose 
quick wit and ofttimes shocking remarks were 
alike the consternation and amusement of the 
family. 

Baby Eleanor, the picture of infantile bliss, had 
a tendency to cleave very closely to anything she 
came in contact with, which caused Mrs. Nicety 
to withdraw as soon as possible, mentally remark- 
ing that while Mrs. Trueman was certainly a 
charming woman, she had strange notions. 

On this rainy day, however, they were secure 
from intruders and the spirit of pure glee reigned 
supreme. It was difficult to tell whether mother 
or children enjoyed the frolic most, but certainly 
when papa returned, thoroughly drenched, he 


26 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


found not only a tempting dish of sweets prepared 
by loving hands, but four very happy roguish 
looking people. 

“I never was so thankful in all my life for this 
home,” half sighed the head of the house, as 
Gladys brought his slippers, while Vera and baby 
danced about like two small sprites. 

“What is the undertone? You seem half sad 
to-night, Noble?” 

“Wait till I tell you where I have been to-day 
with Kingsley, and you will not Wonder at the sigh. 
We are blest above measure, my love.” The light 
deepened in his eyes as he smiled affectionately 
at the group. 

“Papa is our king, mamma our queen, and we 
are all royal princesses,” said Vera. 

“Yes, this is a royal family, Vera, and we are 
going to make this home a beacon light in a dark 
world.” 

His wife divined something unusual troubled 
him tonight. 

“There's nothing upon earth half so holy as the 
love of a child,” said Noble, as he gazed down 
into the deep azure of baby’s eyes and stroked 
Vera’s flying curls. “Gladys, papa brought you a 
new book.” 

“Oh, papa!” Another pair of soft arms embraced 
him with ardency enough to captivate a much 
harder heart than his. 

Heaven smiles upon scenes like this. How sadly 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


27 


many homes clustered near contrasted. Mrs. 
Nicety’s, with her lonely little flower growing up 
companionless, with half her childhood joys missed, 
and the different phases of her nature unde- 
veloped. Oh, the pity of it. 


Lo ! I have given thee 

To understand my presence and to feel 

My fulness. I have filled thy lips with power; 

I have raised thee nigher to the sphere of heaven, 
Man’s first, last home ; and thou with ravished 
senses 

Listenest the lordly music flowing from 
The illimitable years. 

— Tennyson. 


28 


Chapter IV. 


“If any man open the door, I will come in.” 

Mr. Alexander was not an attendant at church. 
He paid for a pew in one of the most fashionable 
temples of worship and upon rare occasions accom- 
panied his family. 

A strictly honest, and in every sense a moral 
man, he had hitherto been content to square his 
life by the rule of highest integrity. 

In passing homeward one evening he was struck 
by the words at the beginning of this chapter. 

So deeply did they impress him that he turned 
back and by some strange influence, before he was 
really aware, his feet were turning into the beau- 
tifully lighted building, and still ere he had fully 
determined to do so, was led by the usher to a 
seat in excellent view of the speaker. 

“What a face !” was his thought, as he gazed 
at the -fine intellectual bearing of the one before 
him. 

Still, that was not the secret of the power of 
the man, but a light that emanated from him, the 
deep serenity that looked out of the eyes — trustful 
as a child’s, a face strong, pure, and manly. 

“I never saw so wonderful a face,” he thought, 
gazing as if fascinated. 


29 


30 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“ ‘If any man will open the door I will come in.’ 
Surely he knows what he is talking about, for his 
is a face so spirituale that it shows some power 
within, an animating principle. He said, ‘If any 
man’ ; but I could never be religious. It wouldn’t 
work down at the office.” 

But the clear voice went on in a way that cen- 
tered attention to the exclusion of reflection. 

“A little child came into the world a few years 
ago and grew up as other little ones in the home, 
but after a time the parents discovered that their 
birdling was mute. That wonderful organ of the 
human scale refused to perform its part in the 
grand choral chant of life. The mechanism of the 
ear, too, was undeveloped. What a deprivation 
to be unconscious of all the sweet melody of life ! 
O the sorrow of the father’s heart! He deter- 
mined to do all that money could for this afflicted 
one, and taking his wee daughter of five years to 
a fine oral school he left her with sadness. After 
some months the child was taken to a public enter- 
tainment in company with many others. The father 
learning of it, slipped in unobserved and occupied 
a rear seat. His child appeared upon the platform. 
A picture was held in front of the little one. In 
a clear voice she exclaimed: ‘Father!’ 

“The man on the back seat heard it and tears 
bathed his face. When the entertainment was con- 
cluded, the great broad-shouldered man rushed 
down to the front, his face a mixture of smiles and 
tears. 

“The little child saw him and ran to meet him, 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


31 


He clasped her in his arms, while she cried, 
‘Father! father! father!’” 

“To feel with that father and child one must have 
experienced a similar scene, but the suggestive- 
ness of the picture. Many men and women to-day 
are deaf and dumb to all the calls of the spirit. 
They do not hear that gentle voice full of sweet- 
ness and more bewitching than anything earthly, 
saying to them in the midst of the cares of busi- 
ness : ‘If any man will open the door, I will come 
in* On hearing it they are dumb. 

“There is a most beautiful symphony being sung 
around, about and over us. It forms an undertone 
of life, and listened to has power to soothe and 
heal our fevered pulse. 

“As the sunlight shines into dark corners and 
transforms them into glistening stalactites, as it 
touches gloomy mountain peaks into rare tints of 
surpassing beauty, so with this door opened, the 
light will gild and flood the life until the sorrows 
are softened, the stress and strain lifted. 

“With the door closed, how can one endure the 
pressure of trouble that weighs the spirit, how 
battle with temptations that haunt ghostlike every 
pathway ? 

“ ‘I will come in !’ 

“Every one has experienced the difference made 
in a circle of people by the sudden entrance of a 
superior man or woman. In physique they may 
be ordinary, but if endowed with intellectual vigor, 
a bright spontaneity, or merely large-hearted 


32 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


thoughtfulness for others, how they light up and 
transform a dull room ! 

“We kindle our low fires anew in the glow of 
their presence, we think kinder thoughts, morbid 
fancies take flight, our horizon is enlarged and we 
rise, for the time being, at least, to their level. 

“But the coming in of the Glorious One alone 
can help us maintain the height. 

“Who would remain forever in the valley ignor- 
ant of the wonders about him when ‘a toilsome 
ascent leads onward to a wide and glorious view?’ 

“If King Edward or any of the royal family 
were to send any person in this audience a note 
saying: ‘If any man will open the door, I will 
come in,’ how the doors would fly open ! Why, 
I venture to say not one would be closed. And 
how elated every one would feel whose abode was 
thus honored. They would never get over talking 
of it. T entertained King Edward! He conde 
scended to dine with me!’ How flattered and 
lifted above those less fortunate they would feel. 

“But listen ! Beneath life’s turmoil and din I 
catch an undertone of melody. Down the street 
come angelic voices thrilling one through and 
through. 

“What is it? Who comes here? 

“Now the air resounds with a mighty chorus 
grander than the Messiah, ‘Lift up your heads, 
O ye gates ! Lift them up ye everlasting doors !’ 
‘Why? Why?’ exclaimed the interested throng. 
‘Who is it?’ 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


33 


“ * That the king of glory may come in !’ 
responds the mighty chorus. 

“Floods of roseate light glint and tint every 
particle of the landscape. 

“ ‘The King of Kings and Lord of Lords,” 
chant the voices. 

“ ‘The mighty Potentate before whom the kings 
of the earth bow themselves. He is the king of 
glory !’ 

“ ‘If any man will open the door/ the ‘King of 
Glory/ not of England, will come in and do him 
honor. 

“Who would choose the paltry, the trivial, when 
the true royalties are within our grasp? 

“At some time, it may be in the silence of the 
night, when we try to forget our pressing cares, 
that we catch an echo of the strain, and we sud- 
denly think seriously of these things. It may be 
in the crowded car, a remark calls to mind life’s 
deeper phase, or perchance a song will vibrate 
upon our ears long after the singer has passed 
by, awaking something within that till now had 
slumbered.” 

Mr. Alexander had listened with intense inter- 
est. He started at the mention of the song. How 
like his own experience of a few weeks previous. 
Two lines only had been wafted to him. But how 
they had repeated themselves to his consciousness. 
‘He will keep me till the river rolls its waters at 
my feet/ 

At the recollection, a strange feeling came upon 
him, and he, the influential man of the world, 


34 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


who was recognized by those in business circles 
as a leader, suddenly felt for the first time in his 
life a sense of his own powerlessness, and for a 
moment the need of 'something higher than him- 
self to lean upon. 

“Confound it!” he muttered under his breath, 
“I must be turning into a pigmy. I will get out 
of here as soon as they sing.” 

Another look at the noble face of the speaker, 
however, riveted his attention. 

“Within the citadel of every human soul, at 
some time, there must be a battle waged to the 
very gates, but above that seething tide of despair, 
anger, and sin, the choral chant sings on. Stop but 
a moment. Hush your heart to listen and you 
will hear a royal announcement that will quiet 
the din of battle and make a calm of the tempest 
of sorrow. Need I reiterate the words whose 
music goes on forever and forever until it becomes 
in reality the grand song of creation and of the 
aeons yet to be? 

“ ‘If any man open the door I will come in.’ ” 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


35 


“He stood with one foot on the threshold, 
With a cloud on his boyish face, 

While his city companions urged him 
To enter the gorgeous place. 

‘There’s nothing to fear, old fellow ! 

It isn’t a lion’s den ; 

Here waits you a royal welcome 
From the lips of the bravest men.’ 

“’Twas the old, old voice of the tempter 
That sought in the old, old way 

To lure with a lying promise 
The innocent feet astray. 

‘You’d think it was Bluebeard’s closet 
To see how you stare and shrink ! 

I tell you there’s naught to harm you; 

It’s only a game and a drink.’ 

“He heard the words with a shudder, 

‘It’s only a game and a drink!’ 

And his lips made bold to answer 
‘But what would my mother think?’ 

The name that his heart held dearest 
Had started a secret spring, 

And forth from the wily tempter 
He fled like a haunted thing. 

“Away till the glare of the city 
And its gilded halls of sin* 

Are shut from his sense and vision, 

The shadows of night within; 


36 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Away till his feet have bounded 
O’er fields where his childhood trod; 
Away in the name of virtue 

And the strength of his mother’s God. 

“What though he were branded ‘A coward 
In the blazoned halls of vice; 

On the page where the angel keepeth 
The record of deeds well done, 

That night was the story written 
Of a glorious battle won. 

And he stood by his home in the starlight 
All guiltless of sword and shield — 

A braver and nobler victor 

Than the hero of bloodiest field.” 


Chapter V. 


Marshall Allen was the eldest child, his mother’s 
pride and stay. A year previous the angels of 
light had entered his home, leaving a sudden dark- 
ness to replace the brief illumination. 

The father was taken when just in the prime 
of manhood. A sudden announcement told him 
that his stay in this sphere of usefulness was 
ended. He was a recalled ambassador, and so the 
boy, his namesake, must step out into the world 
and help the younger children with their educa- 
tion. All this and he not through his high school 
course, and upon which his heart was set. 

After a battle with himself, he set forth like the 
conqueror he was, to make his way in the world. 

Knowing little of city life, its dazzle and bril- 
liancy was most alluring. 

Being naturally bright, and of a winning per- 
sonality, Marshall soon found employment in one 
of the large department stores, where he readily 
became popular. 

Like many another without a friend to advise, 
he drifted into one of the cheapest boarding houses, 
where the society was mostly of a questionable 
kind. 

Several times he attempted to read a verse or 
two his mother had marked in his Bible, but 
37 


38 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


soon gave it up, as the sneers of his roommates 
were unbearable to his sensitive spirit. Hence that 
Guide Book, so necessary to his young life, was 
placed in the bottom of his trunk. 

Little by little he mingled with those about him, 
at the same time feeling a repugnance the pure 
mind must ever experience in contact with evil. 

Still, in seeing the city, as many evenings were 
spent, he had resisted all dares and taunts, as well 
as pressing invitations, to enter one of the gilded 
palaces and drink with the boys. 

But to-night he wavered. “What’s the harm? I 
don’t need to take anything. I believe I will just 
go in and look around and stop this everlasting 
torment of the boys. There’s a nice hot lunch 
served free. I might save my lunch money every 
day and sent it to mother.” 

In just such alluring words of suggestion does 
the tempter gain an entrance, even causing one to 
think they may be doing a really helpful service. 

O boy! standing there upon the threshold, in 
the flush of young manhood, with no stain upon 
your purity, know that another step taken within 
and you leave behind the most valuable gifts of 
life ! 

Ere you enter, stoop and take from off your 
brow the crown of Purity, Innocence, and Truth. 
Lay these aside, put them on the steps behind you. 
Leave there also that bright, clear, open-hearted 
look, for your face never will wear it again in 
exactly the degree it does now, after you have 
sipped the poison from this fountain of evil. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


39 


Lay aside there on the steps, too, your future 
dreams of usefulness. You intend to become a 
noble man like the father whose example has influ- 
enced you from childhood, and whose dying mes- 
sage comes back to you now, stinging you into 
remorse. Think for a moment you are again in 
the room where the shadow of death lingers, 
mother and the children cluster around the bed, 
you step forward to support your mother’s fail- 
ing strength, then the pale lips, almost as white 
as the pillow upon which they rest, part. Bend 
down, miss no word of that dear father’s last 
counsel, “And now, my boy, brother and father 
you must be. Your hour is come to take up man- 
hood’s banner in its stainless purity and bear it 
safely through the battlefield of life. I leave it 
to you to guard and part with only with your 
dying breath.” 

Lay down that prized banner, boy, entrusted 
with such faith to your integrity ! Out there upon 
the cold stones it lies ! That which should bear 
you on to victory. Enter now — if you will, having 
thrown aside life’s most precious je\vels, trampled 
upon your father’s holy trust, broken your word 
of truth to that faithful mother whose pride you 
are! Go in! 

Believe me, angel convoys are often sent to guide 
those willing to be led out of danger to a safe 
shelter. 

At this moment an angel stooped and interposed 
his buckler and the youth escaped unscathed. 


Chapter VI. 


“ That which is can never not have been, facts are as solid 
as the pyramids ! 

A thing done is written in the rocks, yea, with an iron 
pen.” 

The victory of Marshall Allen emboldened him 
next morning in meeting his companions. 

He knew they would sneer and call him “milk- 
sop,” but he felt raised head and shoulders above 
them. 

An awakening had come. He realized that he 
could not remain where he was and keep his char- 
acter unsullied. 

After his return last night he wrote several 
pages to his mother, pouring out all that happened, 
just as he used to at home, and what strength 
came to him in doing it. 

Ah, if the boys who leave the firesides only 
knew with what eagerness the folks at home watch 
the mails, how much more frequently they would 
brighten the home nest. 

Marshall had conquered one temptation and been 
brave enough to confess his struggle to mother, 
who, happily, until their separation, had been the 
confidant of her boy. 

The mother who maintains such a close relation- 
ship may rest assured that the boys and girls will 
40 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS . 41 

not drift far with such a cable attached to them. 
It is like the everlastingness of the love of God, 
a cable that cannot be broken, this heart to heart 
confidence of mother and child. 

Marshall’s home, though humble, was a true 
one. Father and mother were united in heart as 
well as in name. The children were welcomed as 
they came, even when the money to supply all their 
needs was a problem. Still the busy mother found 
time to be interested in all sorts of childish joys 
and struggles, with a word of encouragement for 
the despondent, or help for the wayward one. 
Behold the result. The natural sequence is in evi- 
dence now, for mother love has saved her boy 
in the moment of direst temptation. 

Were years in vain that she patiently denied 
herself many social pleasures that she might be 
her children’s companion? 

Were our eyes not too gross, doubtless we might 
see the halo encircling every such true woman’s 
brow. 

A mother true to her trust has saved her boy! 
High reward even here. And what awaits such a 
woman when, as the result of her loyalty and devo- 
tion, many lives in the future are lifted and enno- 
bled through the influence of her children? 

After bearing the taunts of his companions for 
a week longer, Marshall escaped from the tainted 
atmosphere and found his way to a more respecta- 
ble place. He slept in a tiny attic bedroom, cold 
in winter and which would be stifling in the sum- 


42 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


mer. He took his meals at a cheap restaurant, a 
very lonely and homesick boy. 

“Better loneliness than disgrace,” he said deter- 
minedly, as he wended his way to his cold room, 



MARSHALL 


whose only cheer was a bright lamp which stood 
upon a plain little stand. He sat down to think. 
“I don’t care if I can save enough in this little 
den. Bert can stay in school this year.” 



A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


43 


The brave lad whistled a lively air to drum his 
courage up. Suddenly an inspiration came to him. 
He jumped up and knocked his heels together to 
the imminent danger of upsetting the Tamp. “I’ll 
do it! ’Pon my word I will!” He hurried into his 
coat and hat and was in the street before he hap- 
pened to think he did not know where to go for 
the information he desired. This somewhat slowed 
his steps, but did not cool his enthusiasm. 

“Where will I go to find out about it?” he mur- 
mured half audibly, looking along the street for 
signs. 

Just then a nicely dressed man stepped up to 
him and asked him in the blandest way if he could 
be of any assistance. 

“Oh, yes, indeed ! It is very kind of you to be 
interested in a stranger,” our dear homesick boy 
replied. 

And in the joy of finding anyone in the great 
city to even notice him, his heart warmed toward 
the kind stranger, and he readily told his story 
and of his present desire to find a night school 
and fit himself for something more paying than 
a clerk. 

“You are just the boy I am looking for. Come 
with me and I will put you in the way of some- 
thing worth while.” 

Marshall mentally embraced him on the spot and 
his boyish heart glowed at the promise of friend- 
ship quite as much as over the prospective position. 

To his unsophisticated eyes the gentleman seemed 


44 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


a hero, a noble character, doubtless a philanthro- 
pist who spent his life in going about doing just 
such deeds of kindness. 

“He must be very wealthy,” thought our boy, 
as he glanced admiringly at the elegantly dressed 
gentleman. 

He already felt well established on the road to 
fortune. Thus aided by his new friend, he would 
become a lawyer, and his mother should have all 
the luxuries her refined nature knew so well how 
to appreciate, yet had been denied. 

Thus swiftly does youth paint glowing pictures 
upon the canvas of the mind. 

His friend, for so Marshall called him, led him 
into a brilliantly lighted hotel and ordered wine 
and cigars to be sent to number eleven. Marshall 
shrank back and looked for the first time critically 
at his companion, but was met by such apparent 
kindness that his fears were disarmed. 

“Come up to my apartments and I will tell you 
how you can get rich quickly. You are far too fine 
a fellow to plod along on a mere pittance. I see 
what is in you, a sharp youngster. I’ll make a 
man of you.” 

Thus appealing to the toy’s dearest hopes, Mar- 
shall gladly followed him. 

“My !” he exclaimed, and drew his breath quickly 
as he was ushered into all the splendor and sump- 
tuousness of velvet carpets and great mirrors, luxu- 
rious chairs and beautiful pictures. 

His companion noticed with a gleam of pleas- 
ure, the surprise and delight that the face before 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


45 


him revealed. “He’ll do !” was his mental comment, 
as he led him through the suite of rooms to a 
cozy one at the rear. Here they sat down and were 
soon conversing as if old-time friends, Marshall 
telling him of his entire past life. 

The gentleman opposite never took his eyes from 
him and Marshall felt a growing admiration. 

“How sympathetic he is !” thought the boy, and 
what wonderful good luck had come to him, an 
hour before friendless and desolate, now befriended 
by a man who seemed almost like a prince. It was 
like the fairy tales of his childhood. 

He was willing to toil incessantly to become rich 
and own all such luxuries about him. For Mar- 
shall had the pluck and determination of earnest 
manhood. 

During the brief interval of a few moments he 
had graduated from a law school with honors, 
tried eminent cases before the grand jury and was 
already an aspirant for the grave office of judge. 
So swift an artist is fancy. 

He was so eager to make real all these delight- 
ful pictures, that he asked rather abruptly about 
the best night school and its cost. 

The gentleman put his hand on the boy’s arm 
in a firm way. “Pshaw ! you don’t want to do that 
sort of thing. Go there and dig all night and lose 
your rosy cheeks. No, indeed ! I told you I’d 
make a man of you. Trust to me. Fact is, I took 
a great fancy to you the minute I laid eyes on you. 
I said, There’s the chap for me.’ I believe in help- 
ing a good fellow like you. There’s plenty of dirty 


46 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


fellows who would like the fun of dragging you 
down, but I’ll be your champion and see you 
through. Say !” leaning over and bringing his 
handsome face nearer the boy’s, “What do you say 
to transferring your trunk and belongings right 
over here? I’m a man of strong likes and dislikes. 
Now it’s lucky that I took a notion to you that 
first glance, for I’ll do well by you. I intend you 
shall share these rooms with me and be my valet, 
or aid de camp, if that suits you better. Any 
way, I feel like I could almost make you my son 
and heir.” 

Marshall’s head seemed fairly spinning with his 
good fortune. 

A silver bell tinkled and a white aproned indi- 
vidual entered, bearing glasses and a bottle of 
sparkling brilliancy. He placed these on the table 
and disappeared as noiselessly as he came. 

Marshall fairly rubbed his eyes. He seemed 
dazed, dreaming. He had resolutely refused to go 
in where there was wine. Now it had come to him. 

What should he do? How could he be discour- 
teous to the kind friend before him? The only one 
in the great city who had cared to aid him, and 
then, if he refused, all these beautiful prospects 
would vanish, and he must go back, back out of all 
this luxury to his bare room and plodding life 
and live on six dollars a week for ever so long 
perhaps, when he could help his mother and the 
children so much by staying here. No; this one 
time he must do it. He would have to take the 
tiny glass before him. No harm in that. He need 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


47 


never do it again, and this was a circumstance in 
which he must yield or lose. 

He touched the glass. His friend smiled at him 
in a fascinating way, and, laying his hand on his 
shoulder, said: “Now, my boy, I’ll drink your 
health and future success.” Their glasses clicked 
and Marshall had just raised the sparkling nectar 
to his lips, when the door abruptly opened, and 
without announcement, three persons entered. Two 
were half supporting a third, whom they deposited 
upon the sofa. 

“Tim disgraced us all!” said another finely 
dressed gentleman, as he threw himself into a chair, 
and the host poured out a glass of wine for him. 

Marshall had replaced his upon the table un- 
tasted, in his surprise at the intrusion. 

He was much interested in the newcomers, taking 
in every detail of features and dress. Their conver- 
sation now absorbed him. 

“Yes, the game’s up! That blubber of a Tim got 
so gloriously funny that he let the cat out of the 
bag. No chance there. And I say, Mack, we’ve 
got to be mighty careful or they will be looking in 
here on us.” 

Mack, as we perceive our host is called, admin- 
istered a vigorous kick under the table, but the 
speaker, irritated by the injury done his tender 
anatomy, roared forth: “What you kicking me 
for?” 

Mack darted a look of anxiety at the young face 
before him and in his most oily voice begged the 
gentleman’s pardon, and proceeded to introduce his 


48 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


young friend, whom he said he intended to adopt 
as his own son. 

“Hurrah !” said the recently enraged individual. 
“You’ll be a splendid fifth wheel! Mack, you’re a 
knowing one. Just the innocence necessary to pull 
the wool over people’s eyes. Say, youngster, you’re 
a good one. I see it is in your eye. Never been 
away from your mother and S. S. before, have 
you ?” 

“No, sir!” responded Marshall in a ringing voice, 
“but I judge that you and that poor felllow over 
there,” pointing to the sofa, “either never had a 
mother, or else you’ve been away from her a very 
long while.” 

“Nobly said, my boy,” put in Mack, seeing the 
men were about to open the eyes of his protege 
too quickly, and trying to divert the conversation 
into a safe channel. 

“Well, ’pon my word, Mack, you are getting 
pious. Been to revival services lately? Sounds like 
you’ve got religion.” 

Mack’s anger in being thwarted with the lad, 
caused him to dart such a look at the offender as 
savored not in the least of piety. 

Marshall did not see the glance, although he was 
much perturbed. Still he clung to his new friend, 
thinking, “Oh, well, he’s all right, and is disgusted, 
as I am. Probably he would put them out, only 
he is too much of a gentleman.” 

The others had been sleepy listeners, but the 
last remark seemed to arouse one of them. 

“I say, Bill, I wouldn’t fool with a little kid 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


49 


like that !” pointing to Marshall in a way that 
made the indignant blood mount to his temples at 
the thrust at his dawning manhood. 

“A little kid, indeed ! Fm no child,” he said, 
rising and reaching for his overcoat. But his affa- 
ble friend detained him. “Don’t mind them,” he 
whispered. “They drank a little too much, but 
they are splendid good fellows and will think a 
sight of you when you become one of us.” 

Marshall recoiled. “Be one of them !” He looked 
into his supposed friend’s face. It seemed incred- 
ible that so perfect a gentleman and one so hand- 
some could be a deceiver. He was about to take 
the proffered hand with the feeling that he, at 
least, must be true, but an inner consciousness 
seemed to hold him doubtful. 

What was the difference between his friends 
of some weeks previous and these? Merely that 
these were surrounded with wealth and a small 
degree of refinement. 

His boyish heart quivered in pain over his first 
lesson in distrust of what it had deemed, for even 
so brief a time, worthy. 

“I must go,” stammered Marshall. 

“Leave me when I am going to do so much for 
you? No, no, my dear boy; I cannot hear of it. 
Come, take this glass of wine and we will talk 
over the night school, if you are really set upon it; 
but let you go, I cannot!” 

All at once Marshall felt himself, as it were, in 
the coils of a serpent. A horror seized him. How 


50 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


could he escape? Three powerful men against him. 
But he determined to do so at once. 

“I must bid you good evening, or I will not rise 
in time for work,” Marshall said, as he saw with 
alarm that the clock on the mantel pointed at 
twelve. 

“Ho, ho! good little boy. Don’t leave us and 
talk of going to work. Come here, my lad. I 
didn’t mean to scare you out. We’ll teach you 
how to live on the fat of the land, and let those 
who will, be such fools as to plod on at work. 
Come, don’t leave us. I’m getting fond of you 
myself. I don’t wonder Mack picked you up. You 
haven’t a friend in the city, I’ll warrant, and we’ll 
be your friends.” 

Bill grew more earnest as he felt the prize was 
to elude them. 

“Your board and drink shan’t cost you a penny. 
Come, we will give you money to send to your 
precious family you’re so fond of. See here !” dis- 
playing a roll of bills, “Take off your overcoat, 
sit down and drink this wine and I’ll advance you 
this bill,” holding up a five before him. “All you’ve 
got to do is to manage some little matters of busi- 
ness for us and act as our confidential agent.” 
Advancing to Marshall, he half encircled him with 
his arm. 

But the temptation was passed. His whole being 
revolted, and his one thought was of escape. 

He saw the determination on his supposed 
friend’s face was seconded by this burly, Bill. He 
eagerly scanned the third man’s visage, and in it 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


51 


he thought he detected a gleam of genuine kind- 
ness, although he was still smarting under the sting 
of insulted manhood. 

Mack, the polished, drew him into a window 
seat and attempted to interest him in some fine 
pictures of the wonderful city so amazing to him. 
Ordinarily they would have charmed him, but he 
was meditating only how to become free. 

He glanced at the windows, but they were se- 
curely barricaded. He realized this was dead of 
night. If he only could find a fire escape ! 

Meanwhile the bland gentleman at his side was 
rather uselessly exhausting his eloquence, as the 
boy showed by his restlessness and inattention. 

“Come and play just one game of billiards, ” said 
the wily tempter, intending to play so poorly that 
his victim would have the excitement of winning 
easily and thus prolong his stay. 

“No, thank you; I have stayed too long now 
and must go.” 

Marshall reached for his hat, but a sudden 
movement toward him of Bill, chilled his heart 
blood not a little. He was no coward, but to be 
in the presence of such men at. that hour of night, 
in a strange house of which he had no idea of the 
exits, or even the name or location, was sufficient 
to strike terror to a much older man. 

Marshall saw it was useless to resist physically 
and that he could only effect his escape by diplo- 
macy. 

“Well, while I’m here I might as well entertain 
you,” he said, with a nonchalant air he was far 


52 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


from feeling, for he shivered so he feared it would 
be perceptible. 

The thought had come to him that he might 
play them to sleep and then slip away. So he 
seated himself at the piano, hoping the noise would 
disturb other sleepers in the hotel and they would 
have the music stopped. Hence he played his 
gayest tunes. 

Having inherited his mother’s musical ability, 
he played almost anything he ever heard entirely 
by ear, having never had the technic of music, 
but showing decided talent in expression. 

Perhaps he played better now than ever before, 
for he seemed playing for his very life, for honor, 
for home and mother. 

The men gathered about him charmed, and he 
thought with consternation: “Perhaps they will 
like me better than ever and I will never get 
away.” 

Still he played on and on, yet no one came to 
silence the disturbance or open an avenue of deliv- 
erance. 

Alas ! had he but known that this portion of 
the hotel opened upon an alley, one of the darkest 
and most dreadful in the city, and that rescue was 
not likely to come in response to his call, his stout 
heart certainly would have quailed. 

Slowly the moments sped away. One o’clock! 
rang out so loudly that Marshall stopped playing. 
“Will morning never come ?” he thought. 

Mack was more delighted with the boy than 
ever. “Bless me! I’ve got to hang on to that little 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


53 


chap. He’s a great one, a fine drawing card. 
Nobody would ever doubt him. I believe he could 
help us out of almost any little scrape; but it’s 
ticklish business to handle such a good boy, too 
easily shocked, you see. I’ll have to turn saint 
to win him.” 

Turning to Marshall he patted him on the back 
affectionately. “Say, boy ; that’s fine ! It sort of 
makes a man think of his better days. Can’t you 
give us a song about something good, Sunday 
school, etc.? 

Marshall was touched. Possibly he could work 
on these hard fellows, as he now felt them to be, 
and effect his release. 

He reseated himself at the piano and poured 
forth his soul in “Home, Sweet Home.” 

A strange scene. The bright-eyed, rosy-cheeked 
boy, virtually a prisoner, surrounded by these men 
and their drunken companion at this hour of night, 
sitting there singing, “Home, Sweet Home.” 

' Perhaps the men clustered about him had never 
known a home or real mother, for only one be- 
trayed any emotion. 

He eyed the boy with deepening interest and 
muttered to himself, “Poor kid !” 

As for Marshall, singing of that home so pure 
and sweet, made him feel more desperate than 
ever to get away. 

Despair had begun to settle upon him, when 
Mack startled them all by a warning sound : “Hist ! 
Scatter!” he said, in a hoarse whisper, which 
sounded like a serpent’s hiss. 


54 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Bill and the other men disappeared, but where 
Marshall could not discover, for he had little 
time to speculate. Mack pushed him ahead of him 
as he touched a secret spring, a door in what 
seemed a solid wall flew open and Marshall found 
himself in a small dark room, lighted only by a port 
hole, through which shone one single, star for a 
few moments and then left them in ray less gloom. 

Marshall was now wholly given up to intense 
fear which seemed to paralyze all his powers. Even 
the elegant gentleman beside him crouched in the 
darkness and perceptibly shuddered. 

A loud noise added to the dreadfulness, voices 
many and rough. Evidently the place was being 
raided by the police. 

“Great Caesar ! They’ve got him now !” whispered 
Mack, as a heavy body rolled upon the floor and 
poor Tim had a rude awakening. 

After much questioning they took off the poor 
drunken fellow and dead silence reigned. 

O how Marshall’s heart pounded ! Would he, 
too, be discovered and arrested with these villains? 
The anguish of his mother arose before him, and 
to think he was locked in the dense darkness with 
this man whom he had no doubt now was a scoun- 
drel, perhaps a murderer ! 

How eternally slow seemed the passing of the 
moments. 

After the clock had tolled two and no sound 
was audible, Mack began to breathe more naturally. 
“Mighty near goners that time, lad. I wonder 
how Bill and the rest got out? Mind you, we’ve 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


55 


got some long hours to spend here yet ere we 
dare venture out, and then they may be on 
the scent and swoop down upon us.” 

Marshall’s response was only a heavy sigh. 

“Hard on you,- boy, isn’t it? Really, I’m sorry 
to get you into all this first thing, but we ain’t 
such bad fellows as it looks.” 

So with an occasional remark from his companion 
the seemingly endless night wore away, and in the 
gray of early dawn, while those most apt to keep 
late hours were asleep, Mack stole out to investi- 
gate. He still had no idea of letting the valuable 
youth escape, and was about to secrete himself 
again, when Marshall walked boldly past and 
darted out of the door. Mack dared not follow, 
yet had he known it, Marshall was still in his 
power, for he was totally ignorant of an exit and 
found himself in a maze, not knowing which door 
to try. Several were locked, but one yielded to 
his pressure, and he discovered a narrow winding 
passage. 

Where it led to, he did not pause to consider. 
He hoped it meant deliverance. 

His hope revived as he reached a door at the 
end, but alas ! it was locked ! 

What could he do? He dared not g*o back. He 
must somehow get through that door. He glanced 
up and discovered a closed transom, unused evi- 
dently. “If he could only get that open!” 

A search through his pockets revealed nothing 
to aid him but his jackknife. Besides, how could 
he hang up there on nothing while he opened it? 


56 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


It seemed quite an impossible feat even to an 
agile boy, but desperation inspired him to try. 

It was still profoundly quiet except for an occa- 
sional milk cart rumbling by. 

As he groped about in the semi-darkness he 
touched a rod, and with what joy discovered it 
opened the transom a little way. He placed one 
foot upon the door knob and by main force pushed 
it open, but it had long been disused and the 
hinges were rusty. What was his dismay when 
the whole thing went crashing to the floor! 

For a full minute he was cold with terror. Then 
realizing it was then or never, he pulled himself 
up and through the opening, fully expecting to 
be nabbed by a policeman the moment his feet 
touched terra firma. 

However, the policeman who should have been 
guarding the public safety was having a comfort- 
able nap in a neighboring saloon; so hatless, our 
boy sped down the street and never paused until 
safe inside the door of his temporary home. 

Never did a modest little room look more beau- 
tiful to human eyes ! 

Marshall sank beside the bed, burying his face 
in his hands, as he uttered perhaps the first real 
prayer of his life: “Thank God! thank God! Keep 
me a good boy always ! Amen.” 

The events of the past night were written upon 
the tablets of his mind with “an iron pen” and 
made an indelible impression upon his whole after 
life. 


Chapter VII. 


Certainly one need not be tQld that Christmas 
was at hand, for the very atmosphere radiated it. 

The shops displayed such wonderful devices, one 
questioned if there was any mechanism under the 
sun not grouped together to perplex the mind of 
the bewildered purchaser. 

Although you went down town with your mind 
fully made up as to your Christmas list, behold 
at every counter such an array of tempting bar- 
gains, your brain became confused to the degree 
that it was apt to be beguiled into purchasing the 
wrong gift. 

“I declare !” said one lady to another. “I wish 
Christmas would never come. I am tired out 
every year, spend more than I ought, and then 
do not feel that half my gifts are appreciated.” 

“Wish Christmas would not come?” exclaimed 
her friend. “Christ’s birthday,?” she added softly. 

“Oh, no; of course not. But how many among 
that motley throng we rushed through to-day do 
you suppose thought of the meaning of Christmas ?” 

“I am afraid it is too true,” responded Kathe- 
rine, “but mamma always made it such a beau- 
tiful time, that I cannot think of it entirely upon 
the gift side. I remember when a wee girlie she 
took me upon her lap and explained why we kept 
57 


58 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Christmas, and although we had the merriest of 
times, there was always an undertone that was 
sweet and helpful. I am sure mamma taught us 
the sweet spirit of the Christ child without our 
being aware of it, for she never preached.” 

Tears sprang into her friend’s eyes. “Yes, Kath- 
erine, I have no doubt of it, but you know there 
are not half so many Mrs. Worthington’s as there 
should be.” 

“Thank you. If I can only mold my babies 
thre®, into women like unto her, I am sure I ask 
nothing higher,” Katherine replied, with happy 
tears shining in her eyes. “But I am not capable as 
mamma. Still, I try to be what she was to us, 
and just now our home is the most busy and happy 
nest you can imagine. The children are making 
their gifts and they inveigle their papa into assist- 
ing them. We are having a glorious time packing 
a box of outgrown clothing, books and toys, for 
the settlement work. The children are delighted 
in depositing their treasures in the wonderful box. 
I believe it helps sweeten their tempers more than 
anything else, and I really think they are enjoying 
it as much as they will their tree.” 

“I never thought of doing that with mine. Your 
children are delighted with their gifts, no doubt?” 

Mrs. Trueman smiled in the affirmative. 

“That is so trying to me. Leo is never pleased 
with anything he receives. “Why didn’t you get 
me a blue sled?” if it happens to be red. “I don’t 
want a stove, but a dolly’s bed,” sighed Gennie, 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


59 


whom I was sure of having suited with my selec- 
tion.” 

The lady looked sad as she gave this little glimpse 
into her home life. 

“I feel as though half the Christmas giving is 
wrong,” Katherine replied. ‘Have to gifts’ were 
what my brave mother took a strong stand against. 
‘Give true love gifts or none,’ was her motto. So 
we had little of that burdensome side to contend 
with.” 

The young mothers had arrived at the Trueman 
doorway. 

“Come in and see my urchins. No doubt they 
are in mischief in spite of the shower of good 
resolutions with which they pelted me on my depar- 
ture.” 

“I will, just to get a wholesome bit of encour- 
agement to take home with me,” said Mrs. Thomas, 
with a sigh. 

■ They ascended the stairs quite noiselessly and 
overheard the following dialogue : 

“I don’t care if you think I’m not a Christian, 
Gladys Trueman, I am going to give my dear 
precious Susan Jane to Mrs. Bridge’s little heathen 
girl way over the water!” 

“Well, the preacher said Sunday it’s better to 
keep your temper than to give things all the time,” 
responded Miss Gladys, in a tone of rebuke. 

“I ’spose it’s best to do both,” the little rogue 
replied, with a merry laugh, “but it’s hard on me. 
I’m awfully sorry I was bad to you, Gladys,” and 


60 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Vera put her arm around her sister’s neck to the 
imminent danger of choking her. 

Gladys, softened by this great concession upon 
independent Miss Vera’s part: “I was baddest. 
I am sorry, too, some, but I’ll get more sorrier 
when I go to bed, ’cause then the lumps come up 
in me, and when they get to my throat they stick 
awful and I can’t get them up or down. It hurts 
me dreadfully to be bad; don’t it you, Vera?” 

“Not much,” the mischief replied. 

“But I don’t see what makes the lumps?” asked 
Vera, meditatively. 

“Why, the naughty in me rolls up together in 
a bunch and keeps rolling and rolling until it gets 
hard like balls, and comes up in my throat and 
wants to get out, and God won’t let it, I ’spect,” 
explained Gladys, whose brilliant mind always had 
some philosophical or original answer. 

The mothers in the adjoining room found this 
explanation more than their risibilities could with- 
stand, so they hastily sped down stairs, Mrs. True- 
man remarking that she understood perfectly how 
both children felt, for sometimes she “was dreadful 
sorry and hurt awfully,” like Gladys. At other 
times it did not strike in much deeper than Vera’s 
repentance. 

“I think your idea about the box is excellent, 
and I am going home to see if I can inspire the 
children to send the little heathen girls any black- 
eyed Susans or a box to your what do you call it?” 

“ ‘The Children’s Settlement,’ which is a resort 
for the poorest waifs in the city. Noble is a great 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


61 


friend of the superintendent, who is a hero in his 
eyes, gives up his entire life to the work. They 
say it is remarkable what that one man is doing 
for the elevation of that neighborhood.” 

“That certainly appeals to me, and I will try 
to enthuse the children ; but I often think if their 
father cared more for such things, they might. 
But how can I do much when he sneers right before 
them ?” 

Katherine felt a great compassion for this little 
woman who had the entire burden of training the 
children resting upon her frail shoulders. Her own 
happy marriage had not made her selfish. She 
said encouragingly : “I would talk to the children 
alone and see if they will enter into it. Allow them 
to do as much of the packing of the box as pos- 
sible, even if you have to take it all out when they 
are asleep. I often do that, but it pays, for their 
enjoyment is so keen and they imbibe the spirit 
of helpfulness. Mamma used to say almost any 
child liked to help if appealed to in the right way. 
I venture to say it will change the tone of their 
Christmas if' you keep them busy working for the 
less fortunate ones.” . 

“I will certainly try it and report,” Mrs. Thomas 
replied, more cheerfully, as she departed. 

“I wish I could be like mamma; give something 
bright or helpful to every one I meet — but my 
baby!” 

The young mother tripped up stairs and peeped 
into her room. She went softly to a dainty crib, 
curtained in white, within which with wide open 


62 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


eyes lay the household pet just awakened from 
her nap, and in that delicious semi-conscious 
state almost lingering on the borderland of Heaven. 

Mrs. Trueman stood looking down a moment in 
admiration. 

And while she is thus absorbed in her mother- 
hood, we can but contrast her with the fiery high 
strung girl of only ten years previous. 

Wedded to one whose temperament accorded with 
her own, the development had been natural and 
beautiful. 

But the blue eyes soon spied mamma, and then 
the cooing and chatting that ensued. 

Katherine seated herself in the rocker, and with 
the baby nestling in her arms sang in her sweet 
voice — which had developed a richness of expres- 
sion with her deeper happiness — 

“No rubies of red for my lady, 

No jewel that glitters and charms, 

But the light of the skies in a little one’s eyes, 
And a necklace of two little arms. 

“Of two little arms that are clinging, 

Oh, ne’er was a necklace like this ! 

And the wealth of the world and love’s sweetness 
impearled 

In the joy of a little one’s kiss. 

“A necklace of love for my lady 

That was linked by the angels above, 

No other than this — and the tender sweet kiss 
That sealeth a little one’s love.” 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


63 


One could but wish that all the little ones in 
the world could share such tenderness ; but alas ! 
in too many homes “a perfect love of a poodle,” 
“a darling little pug,” are shown far more consid- 
eration and devotion than these priceless jewels — 
the children. 

Nurse girls of even questionable character take 
care of the little ones while mamma goes out driv- 
ing with her “dear darling” four-legged divinity. 

A shame and disgrace to womanhood that such 
facts exist. 

Crowd the children out! “No room for them 
in the irtn,” is quite as true of childhood to-day as 
when the Christ child was refused a lodgment. 

Crowd them out ! Lavish your tenderness upon 
“a love of dog,” fair lady. The love that God 
implanted for nobler uses. 

No time to guide little feet into truth's ways; 
no time to fold the tiny hands in prayer and teach 
th.e little one to revere the One whose help he 
will need in all his life problems. 

Certainly not ! There is the latest novel to read 
and Madam Upton’s grand party is coming off. 
A dress which will dazzle and make the rest of 
womankind in your circle turn the proverbial 
green, consumes much time in preparation. But 
then, some of the gentlemen will admire you. 
“How superb Mrs. Wymen looks in her new bro- 
cade !” 

Even if your husband fails to appreciate you 
and sighs for the good old days when you were 
happy to spend every evening of the week with 


64 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


him, what inexpressible comfort it will be to shine 
for one brief evening at Mrs. Upton’s, and then 
console yourself next day with your “dear darling 
doggie,” who is so sympathetic and fond of you, 
while children and husband are thoughtlessly cruel 
of your feelings. 

We rejoice that this is true only of a compara- 
tively small part of enlightened womanhood. But 
the situation is grave enough to warrant our 
thoughtful attention. 

In the name of all nobleness that lies dormant 
in every woman’s being, rend the chains which 
bind you to senseless vapid living, and take your 
place in the world as a wholesome, symmetrical 
woman ! 

“For ’tis for this sublime end, thy God hath lent 
thee life.” 


Chapter VIII. 


“Oh, there’s Winfield, Erva, Uncle Phil and 
Auntie Bernice !” screamed the children, as they 
rushed from the window where they had been 
intently watching* for the desired event, for what 
seemed to them an endless period of time. 

Down stairs they were reinforced by mamma, 
whose eyes shone like stars, so eager was she to 
see her dear big brother, the playmate and closest 
friend of her childhood. 

Phil, now a heavily mustached man of thirty- 
two, bore in his arms a child whose eyes were 
dark and brilliant as his own. 

He almost deposited his precious bundle upside 
down in the rush to greet his sister. 

The same boyish roguery shone in his face as 
he gathered her in his arms and administered quite 
as ardent a squeezing as in the old days. 

Vera and Gladys danced about the picture of 
animated delight, trying to unwrap the little cousin 
whom they had never seeg, and stopping to kiss 
Uncle Phil between the acts. 

Altogether it was one of those happy meetings 
which defy description. 

Every body talked at once and many were the 
attempts to remove the numerous outer garments 
ere it was finally accomplished. So much to tell 
65 


66 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


and two new treasures to be looked at, Baby 
Eleanor and litle Erva. 

“What a contrast !” exclaimed the delighted 
Kate, rescuing Erva from the children and placing 
her upon Phil’s other knee beside Eleanor. 

Perhaps never were two children more unlike, 
and they seemed to show each other off to the 
best advantage. Eleanor, with those lovely violet 
eyes, long dark lashes and such a sunny little face. 
Erva possessing a pair of wonderful dark eyes, 
contrasting strangely with the pure golden color 
of her curls. Something so spirituale about her, 
one could but think of those little ones who come 
to earth to tarry but a brief time, and never lose 
sight of the shore from whence they have wan- 
dered. 

Katherine took her in her arms. “She is radiant 
looking in health,” she said, admiring the rounded 
arms and shapely form, “but is she well, Phil?” 

“Why, certainly, Kate. Never sick a day in her 
life. What makes you ask that?” he said, as a 
shadow crossed his happy face. 

“Because she looks so — well, so — angelic.” 

“She is !” he responded, with a look of perfect 
devotion toward the little one. “I sometimes wish 
she was a trifle more wicked like my pet, Vera,” 
he said, pulling the small girl’s hair teasingly. 

“Really, Kate, I don’t see how I came to be the 
father of two such good ones. Winfield never did 
half the bad things during the six years of his 
life that we used to do in a week.” 

“I am delighted to think yours have turned out 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


67 


such models,' for mine are” — she made a droll 
face — “well, those two are equal to us any of our 
very worst days. Vera is a very duplicate of 
Brace. My hopes revive. Possibly your little angels 
may have a wholesome effect upon my sinners. 
I don’t see how mamma escaped being gray at 
thirty, for I am sure I will be faded out when 
I reach her present age.” 

Eleanor, still retaining her seat upon Uncle 
Phil’s knee, was smiling up at him irresistibly. 

“Say! you’re a darling!” Uncle Phil tossed her 
high in the air. 

“She don’t look like either of you, Kate.” 

“Yes, she has Noble’s forehead and complexion,” 
said Auntie Bernice, as she claimed the dear 
baby awhile. 

“Come to auntie,” said a voice of such winning 
persuasion, that Eleanor nestled at once in her 
arms, looking at her thoughtfully the while, and 
well she might, for there was not only beauty, but 
a depth and sweetness depicted in the face that bent 
over her. 

We are all glad to catch a glimpse of Phil’s 
queen, which life with its changing circumstances 
had at last brought to him. But we must defer 
description, for Noble has come in with a springing 
step. 

How delightful was this reunion of old chums. 

“Well! well! well!” exclaimed Noble. “How are 
you, any way, old fellow?” 

The two robust men nearly dislocated each oth- 
er’s hands from their proper members, they put 


68 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


their arms on each other’s shoulders and gave 
vent to their pleasure by an occasional slap on the 
back. 

Katherine had disappeared and soon a silver 
chime announced the dinner hour. 

The children were wild with joy over having 
two little cousins to share their Christmas tree 
and joys. 

At a word from papa, however, the voices were 
hushed and hands folded, although it is extremely 
doubtful that the small heads managed to keep 
bowed during the blessing, for how could they 
help stealing glances at the beautiful little cousin 
across the table and the manly little fellow oppo- 
site Vera promised to be a splendid playfellow. 
She would always rather play with boys than girls, 
this little tomboy of the family. 

Gladys loved fun and excitement quite as much 
as her sister, and had spells of being in wild spir- 
its, but hers was a deeper nature, and her love of 
books somewhat toned down her buoyancy. 

Just now she charmed Aunt Bernice, who ad- 
mired this neice exceedingly, seeing in her ele- 
ments of future greatness, at least so it appeared 
to her fond auntie’s eyes. 

“She is certainly an exceptional child, Kathe- 
rine,” Mrs. Phil found opportunity to say in a 
whisper. 

“I am pleased that you think so, for I feel 
it, but Noble says that is because I am her mother.” 

“I am convinced of its truth every time I see 
her,” Mrs. Phil responded. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


69 


Dinner over, Noble and Phil were deep in a 
political discussion, and the children all talking at 
once, so the sisters, for the tie between them was 
a most sweet one, had a much coveted chat before 
their matronly duties for the night began. 

As it is evidently a confidential one, we will not 
intrude, but remain in the cozy room where the 
children are already acquainted and speculating 
what Santa will bring. 

Vera, the generous, is wishing with all her fer- 
vent little heart that “Santa will put heaps and 
heaps of presents in every poor child’s stocking. 

“I am sure he will put some in, ’cause we helped 
him, Gladys, Eleanor and me.” 

“We did, too,” said Winfield, his fine face lighting 
up. “Me’n, mamma, and sister, went down to the 
‘Empty Stocking Club’ and filled some all ourselves, 
to be sure Santa didn’t forget, ’cause he had such 
a , big mind full of people to ’member he might 
forget some.” 

“You’re a splendid fellow!” exclaimed Vera, 
“and not a speck selfish like George. He never 
wants to give anybody a pin. I ’spose it would 
pierce his soul to do so.” 

“Vera!” reproved papa, as he caught the last 
remark. 

“Papa Trueman! You said that yourself.” 

Phil was trying to dodge behind a newspaper. 

“When did I say such a thing?” 

“You said it ever so long ago about George’s 
father, that it would pierce his soul if he gave a 


70 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


cent away, and I am sure if it would do that to 
him, it would to George, for he’s the stingiest — ” 

“Hush, daughter,” Noble replied, but feeling 
himself decidedly vanquished. 

When the children were again absorbed in play, 
Noble turned to Phil. “That shows we have to 
walk chalk before these youngsters, for they form 
their judgment by everything we let slip. I made 
a hasty remark one day which I regretted the 
next moment; but that child did not forget it, and 
is judging her playmate by the standard that I 
set up. You may laugh, Phil, but I see the serious 
side of it, and it comes to me often, that my senti- 
ments are going to color and shape, to a great 
extent, their future. 

“You were always a Noble boy,” Phil returned, 
with a half serious look struggling with the fun. 
“I never was good like you, and I am afraid our 
babies would be totally depraved if it wasn’t for 
their mother.” 

A reverent look came over Phil’s face, and it 
was evident that all his manhood bowed to the 
gracious woman he had enthroned in his heart. 

“Come on, Winfield!” Vera grasped her cousin’s 
hand and they scampered up stairs, Gladys fol- 
lowing with little Erva, to whom she was much 
attached. 

Eleanor nestled in her father’s arms and was 
soon fast asleep, worn out with excitement. 

Up stairs riot was raging when the mothers 
appeared with gowns in hand. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


71 


How the small people pleaded to stay up just 
a little longer. 

“Mamma, I’m having the bestest time!” shouted 
Winfield, from the top of a high bed where Vera 
had insisted upon his perching, as a sailor boy 
clinging to the mast, while she made the springs 
go in imitation of the waves. 

“Oh, do let us stay up, mamma,” begged Gladys; 
but the mothers were inexorable, so the children 
consoled themselves by hanging up their stockings 
and scampering to bed. 

But it is quite certain, had their mothers not 
been otherwise interested, they would have heard 
many a laugh and story proceeding from the white 
beds. 

Gladys was in her gayest mood, and for fear 
Erva might feel strange and cry for mamma, was 
regaling her and the others, with marvelous stories 
she had read, which she colored to suit her own 
fertile imagination. 

Erva lay contentedly upon her arm, looking at 
her with earnest thoughtfulness, as if pondering 
every word, until at last the lashes drooped lower 
and lower and she was fast asleep. 

But Gladys remained awake a long time after 
the rest, watching the firelight make shadows upon 
the walls and thinking her dong, long thoughts.’ 

“I wonder when God was a little baby like 
Jesus? Jesus was a wee baby ever so long ago. 
lie was born a night like this,” looking out at 
the sky twinkling with points of light. 

“There’s the star, too, that the wise men saw. 


72 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


I wonder how God looked when he was a baby, 
because He must have been. Papa said God was 
always just God, big, great God; but I don’t believe 
it, for every body was little some time, mamma 
said, ’cept Adam and Eve. God was Jesus’ papa, 
but nobody ever will tell me who was God? Papa 
says nobody knows.” Gladys sat up and looked 
very thoughtfully out into the night. 

“I suppose now Jesus is born, we must be good 
and love to get our Sunday school lessons. Mamma 
said he was born to help us not slap each other. 
I hope he’l get around to me before long, ’cause 
I don’t like to be lumpy inside. God has so many 
to ’tend to He can’t help them all at once ; but 
I hope my turn will come — ” and the expressive 
little face dropped back upon the pillow, the 
dreamy blue eyes were soon closed in slumber. 

Innocent childhood ! Who can linger in your 
presence and not feel purer? 

So felt the happy mothers as they tiptoed about 
filling the little stockings. Then tucking in the 
little sleepers with love’s own tender touch, they 
sped away for a good-night girlish chat. 


Chapter IX. 


The holidays flew by most joyously. 

Noble and Phil had many talks of college days, 
present events, and future hopes. 

Noble had introduced Phil to his honored friend, 
Mr. Kingsley, and the contact was mutually help- 
ful, Phil gaining an outlook into conditions of city 
life so very opposite to those he met with in his 
pleasant home town. 

Phil was now a physician of rising fame. 

“I do not wonder you take life more seriously, 
Noble, for since you have shown me some of the 
suffering and blots upon the fair city, it makes 
me disheartened. I am thankful I am out of it. 
I want a purer atmosphere.” 

“Yes, so do I, but if the clean men leave it to 
the rabble, is that discharging the highest duties 
of citizenship?” 

“Certainly not, but evil seems to rule the courts 
of justice, ride supreme over the efforts of true 
men, and put into power whomsoever it will.” 

“It does indeed to an extent truly alarming, 
because pure men fear contamination, shirk the 
issue, and leave it to the lawless element. Still, 
there are forces at work underneath all this' seem- 
ing supremacy of the vicious, that make for the 
73 


74 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


betterment of society. Forces, Mr. Kingsley would 
say, that will eventually lift us out of the mire.” 

Phil looked very sober. “Since I came to the 
city I confess myself no longer an optimist.” 

“The city is full of labor 

And struggle and strife and care; 

The fever pulse of the city 
Is throbbing in all the air; 

But calm through the sunlit spaces, 

And calm through the starlit sky, 

Forever over the city 

The clouds of God go by.” 

Repeated with beautiful intonations a sweet 
voice, as Bernice leaned above her husband’s chair 
and tenderly stroked his hair. 

“Your presence is most opportune, Bernice, for 
I was fast being lost in a perplexity of doubt and 
despair. Your words are beautiful. Where did 
you get them?” 

“They are from a song I heard when in Boston, 
rendered by a fine baritone soloist, and they have 
seemed like a gospel of hope to me ever since.” 

“O Uncle Phil ! Here’s the cutest little kitten 
you ever saw, and it needs a doctor right away 
to open its blind eyes and let the oppressed go 
free.” 

Vera sprang to Uncle Phil’s knee, holding up 
p. most miserable specimen of the feline tribe. 

“Where did you get so much scripture, Vera? 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


75 


You surely were never still long enough to learn 
whole chapters like we use to when sent to Lady 
Silver Lock’s room for reformation.” 

“Oh, I just catch it in church while listening to 
the preacher, and it runs down my hair to the 
roots, so it has to drop right into my brain, and 
there it sticks.” 

Phil set her down and 
walked to the window to hide 
his amusement, just as a ter- 
rific roar came from the up- 
per regions. 

“I judge that one of our 
early episodes is being re-en- 
acted, Katherine,” said Phil, 
as he followed her in the di- 
rection of the ominous 
sounds. Another deafening noise quickened their 
steps. 

They were met on the landing by Gladys, whose 
attitude convinced them that she was the author 
of the mischief. 

“What on earth are you doing, Gladys?” asked 
mamma. 

“That’s it, we are playing earthquake, the kind 
like you read about in the paper, and when that 
was over I said, ‘Let’s have another and call it 
the last day,’ ” added the child solemnly. 

“But what did you do make it?” questioned 
mamma, in dismay. 

“We just rolled Eleanor’s little crib in through the 
hall where it would sound loud, and then pushed 



76 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


it back and forth as hard as we could. That was 
the thunder. Then we run the express wagon to 
make it louder. Then we both screamed as. hard 
as we could, for the houses were going to fall on 
us, like they do in a truly quake, and we were just 
going to be swallowed up in the ground, down in 
the shoot to the basement when you came and 
spoiled it all.” 

“Kate, it’s in the blood. They can’t help it. 
Remember our early pranks and have patience with 
their youthful enthusiasm,” laughed Phil. 

“Gladys, take that crib right back in my room 
and fix everything up as nicely as you found it,” 
said mamma, quite sternly. 

“Dadis me help ’ou,” cooed baby Erva, trotting 
after her admirer and pushing the crib with all 
her baby might. 

Katherine looked doleful for a moment. “I don’t 
see why I am not more of a success in governing.” 

“Now, see here, sis,” consoled Phil, who could 
not bear to see his companion of other days dis- 
heartened, “you are doing your level best to bring 
them up right — here, Bernice ! thou ever welcome, 
I’ll resign my position of comforter to the despond- 
ent, in your favor, knowing that in no better hands 
could I leave my patient.” He waved them a merry 
adieu. 

“Why are not my children dutiful like yours? 
I do my best to bring them up as mamma did us, 
and Noble is the best helper on earth, yet such a 
shocking set, except this little flower of mine,” 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


77 


taking Eleanor in her arms and holding her so close 
that baby murmured, “Pitty tight, mamma.” 

“Excuse me, dear ; mamma did not mean to 
smother you with love.” 

“Certainly,” lisped the baby lips. 

“You need not grieve at all, Katherine, for I 
never knew a more sincere mother. I consider 
your hold upon them wonderful. You do not have 
to tell them ‘No’ over and over. I saw your merry 
Vera sober down very quickly the other day when 
you merely said, ‘No/ ” 

“But I have to keep everlastingly at it. I may 
not have to say no about that one thing, but there 
is always a next coming up, until I get distracted.” 

“Of course you do. Your nerves are on a strain 
and you live so intensely with them. Shall I tell 
you how I keep poised when I feel like flying to 
pieces ?” 

“Do, pass on your remedy.” 

“I have several in reserve, and if one fails I 
try another. If I can go away entirely from the 
children for a few moments and drop everything 
I become hushed in spirit; but if that is impossible, 
I look at the trees outlined so beautifully against 
the sky, and I watch the clouds and let my soul 
sail away in the azure, and sending my thoughts 
out into the vastness, I seem to lose the fret. 
Things which have vexed me drop away and I 
regain control over throbbing nerves. Then, if I 
am chained to one spot, I look at a grand picture 
Phil recently purchased for our room. It always 
gives me an uplift. So cannot you look away 


78 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


from the turmoil of your nursery to the blue of 
heaven, and feel that over and around you, to help 
in your perplexities, is a great Peace, ready to 
enfold you if the pressure of the moment is let 
go. ?” 

“Bernice, you are like mamma in your inner 
nature, so strong and fine.” 

“Thank you, Katherine. I would rather be like 
Mother Worthington than any one I know; but I 
realize I am a long, long way off from her height.” 

“Love, Pse so tired; I walk to much Pse so 
tired,” baby Erva said, as she climbed into her 
mother’s arms and nestled in her sweet resting 
place. 

“Does she often call you ‘Love ?’ ” asked Kate, 
stroking the golden curls admiringly. 

“Yes, it is her favorite name for me. I suppose 
she has heard her papa say it so often.” Bernice’s 
eyes shone with a happy light. 

How beautiful are these simple home pictures 
of pure love. How sweet to witness the joy of 
these who prized their crown of • motherhood and 
wore it so regally. 

Radiant spots are such homes, keeping alive the 
beautiful faith that love is immortal, and that in 
spite of earth’s sorrow, there is such satisfaction. 
And for those who have missed life’s holiest joys: 
“It hath not entered into the heart of man to con- 
ceive the things God hath prepared for them that 
love Him.” It is all laid up — Love’s highest crown 
and deepest joy; thus it is really true and we 
may press onward knowing : It is better farther on. 


Chapter X. 


“A babe in the house is a well-spring of pleasure, 

A messenger of peace and love, 

A resting place for innocence on earth, 

A link between angels and men.” 

Mr. Kingsley dropped the book he had taken 
for a moment’s inspiration. 

“That is what God meant children in the home 
to be,” he mused, “but how far from His con- 
ception are we fallen.” 

He put on his overcoat mechanically, thinking 
of the unwelcome little ones who were anything 
but “well springs of pleasure.” Children, some of 
whom were capable of high attainments, but whose 
environments were of the worst type. “Yet charac- 
ter is growing day by day and all things aid in 
its unfolding.” 

'Time and even life itself he had laid down 
upon the crucifix of self-denial, that this center 
might radiate greater light into these wretched 
hovels called homes. Yet often this noble man 
found himself without helpers and fully one hun- 
dred children gathered from the streets to care for. 

“Surely God is behind all this,” he would say 
in moments of discouragement, and planting his 
feet upon this faith, he fought his way through 
difficulties that often seemed insurmountable. 


79 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Today he went to a wretched place. His knock 
was answered by a bright boy who ushered him 
into a room presenting a decided contrast to the 
outward surroundings. 

It seemed alive with children, and was, to be 
sure, far from orderly; but the air of refinement 
was evident from the few pictures that graced the 
walls, remnants of happier and more fortunate 
days. 

“It’s Brother !” exclaimed a chorus of delighted 
voices, and they scrambled to get nearer their 
friend. 

“Brother ! brother !” was heard on all sides, 
showing that a bond most sweet existed between 
this rather stern looking man and these children. 

“How are you all to-day?” he asked cheerily. 
“You, Ruthy, and my little Esther?” catching the 
youngest in his arms. 

“I’se all wite, brother,” baby Esther cuddled 
up closer in the kind sheltering arms, “but my 
mamma, her so tick.” 

“It makes me hurt, brother,” said sober little 
Ruth, laying her tired head on brother’s arm. 

“What makes you hurt, dear?” 

“’Tause my mamma is so sick,” Ruth responded, 
looking so heavy hearted for so wee a maiden that 
it made this good Samaritan’s heart ache. 

“Charlie,” called a sweet voice, “bring Brother 
in to see me a minute.” 

“Ah, our good friend, how are you to-day?” 

“How am I? Well! well! Really I am surprised 
that any one should think to inquire about me. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


81 


Fact is, I never stop to think how I am. I just 
go on.” 

“You are a brave man, and because I have found 
you so true, I want you to promise me some- 
thing.” * 

“Certainly, it is my pleasure to do all I can for 
you, Mrs. Coleburn.” 

A luminous look came in her eyes as she replied: 
“I am going on a long, long journey one of these 
days, and the trip looks very beautiful to me now, 
although it brings me keen anguish. I would like 
to tell you of it, if I am not intruding too much 
upon your time ?” 

“Indeed you are not. I am much interested. It 
will do me good and I am a most willing listener.” 

“Yesterday, as I lay here alone a few moments, 
I felt so rebellious over our condition, the loss of 
the children’s father, and their being in this awful 
neighborhood, where they can but learn evil, and 
I so young, lying here unable to care for them. 

0 it was bitter! ‘I did not feel good inside,’, as 
little Ruthy says. I wanted to get well so badly, 
it seemed as if I must! I felt as if I had to see 
God and talk it out with Him and know why these 
things must be. In that tempestuous state I 
dropped asleep and awakened hushed in soul. I 
was so quiet ’twas almost as though I ceased to 
breathe. Then I thought my bed was a boat and 

1 was upon the ocean. The waves were boisterous 
at first, but gradually they became more tranquil. 
I thought myself alone on quite a large vessel and 
that we went by a very zig zag course; but after 


82 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


a time I discovered a captain of quiet but noble 
bearing was in charge. All sense of insecurity left 
me. I just sank back and enjoyed it so much, 
and presently a great flash of radiance streamed 
out, touching the rippling water with light as from 
a million diamonds. I was in rapture, and leaned 
forward to see whence came the flood of glory, 
when I saw in the distance a city more beautiful 
than words can portray ! Such dazzling light radi- 
ated from every point and turret. I caught my 
breath in very ecstacy, while my guide, the noble 
captain, said to me: “You see it has been a very 
winding course, but we are nearing port at last. 
Behold the lights of Home l” 

She sank among the pillows, a great peace in 
her face, while her eyes seemed to have caught 
the fadeless glory and retained its luster. 

“Dear, kind friend, our brother, you have led 
me back to the ‘Elder Brother,’ and I am sure 
it is in His place you were sent us. Now, I want 
you to promise to take charge of my babies when 
I take my seat in the boat. I know I am already 
in it, brother, and the course may be zig zag, but 
it is not so very long.” 

Mr. Kingsley took the thin hand held out to 
him. “It is a great trust. I am unable to care 
for them myself, but I will do my best, and when 
I step into the boat I hope to feel that I have ful- 
filled your desire.” 

Mr. Kingsley left the sweet-faced invalid with 
a heavy heart, for one of his favorite families was 
thus to be left desolate. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


83 


“I will not leave you orphans,” came like a voice 
of cheer, as he wended his way to the next place. 

From a broken window pane was removed a 
bundle of rags and a head thrust out. “And who 
in the name of sinse be you ?” asked a coarse 
voice, “And what is it you’re wantin’ here?” 

Was it a woman’s face? It was difficult to dis- 
tiguish, so utterly groveling had it become. Beastly 
seemed best to typify its dull outline, while real 
evil looked forth from the eye. 

“So it’s you, be it?” A growl almost doglike 
admitted him. 

Mr. Kingsley did not offer to sit, if indeed he 
could have found a suitable place, but stood hat 
in hand. 

“I came to speak to you about Marion. I have 
found a very nice place where she can work for 
her board and go to school. She ought to be in 
school, you know.’ 

“What you say? You want to take my gal away 
to work for her board and go to school? Well, 
not while I’ve got this arm to fight ye. I tell ye 
I’ll have none of it ! I expect to make money out 
of that gal fore long and you’d cut off a poor 
woman’s income ! Out with ye ! D’ye hear ? If you 
don’t git right out I’ll put ye where you’ll wish 
ye had !” 

The very fiend himself looked forth from her 
eyes. 

Mr. Kingsley did not retreat an inch. 

“I came here to say that if you undertake to 
make money out of that child’s virtue, there will 


84 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


be trouble, and you will run up against something 
more formidable than myself, namely, the law !” 

“And it’s you as will insult a decent woman in 
her own house, be* it? Well, you’re a thin one 
all right, and ’twon’t take much to lay you out,” 
advancing toward him with her brawny arm up- 
lifted. 

“You’re in great business cornin’ here to larn 
me what to do with my gal. I’ll give you some- 
thing you won’t forgit in a hurry.” 

The fury in her face deepened as she drew a 
knife out of her bosom. 

Kingsley, being very quick motioned and per- 
fectly fearless, moved out of her way, pausing to 
say: “Madam, I have warned you and the threat 
will be executed to the letter.” 

The demon, for womanhood had long vanished, 
rushed at him, but being of unwieldy bulk,, she 
stumbled and fell headlong, just as her intended 
victim passed to the somewhat purer air of the 
street. 

“Marion shall be saved if it be in human power!” 
he said in a determined tone. “I would gladly 
lay down my life to shield her or any pure child 
from such a creature.” 

Onward went this pilgrim until he overtook a 
group of ragged urchins. “Brother ! brother !” 
they shouted. “Can’t we go to the club?” “Not 
yet, Joe. I must visit some little sick people first.” 
The children fell back disappointedly. 

“Character is mainly molded by the cast of 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


85 


minds that surround it,” Kingsley quoted, “And 
what chance for these in this atmosphere?” 

He looked down upon the sinned against chil- 
dren about him, and his heart swelled with com- 
passion. 

“Come around at four o’clock, Joe, and I will 
be there. It should be open as an offset to these 
numerous ‘Family Entrances.’ ” 


Chapter XI. 


“Frail art thou, O man, as a bubble on the breaker, 

Weak and governed by externals like a poor bird caught 
in a storm. 

Yet thy momentary breath may still the raging waters; 

Thy hand can touch a lever that will move the world.” 

We left Mr. Alexander much moved by the 
spiritual uplift of one of those radiant types of 
manhood. 

However, the pride of his social position pre- 
vented him from yielding to these higher leadings 
and he plunged more deeply than ever into busi- 
ness life. 

The tossing waves were hurrying him onward 
with such frightful rapidity, that he sometimes felt 
as though he was being drawn into a terrible vor- 
tex. As a rest, he stole away from his cares to 
his one solace, his daughter, who was unfolding 
her life petals with the rose’s first blush and fresh- 
ness upon them. 

Lora Alexander partook largely of her father’s 
strong character, and was endowed with the grace 
and charm of her mother, who was the star of 
every social event and an acknowledged society 
leader. 

Left alone a great deal, Lora had become 
thoughtful and often astonished her mother by her 
deep remarks. 


86 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


87 


Mrs. Alexander had one of those pleasant dis- 
positions which was on good terms with the world 
about her. It flattered and wooed her, why should 
she not be good-natured with it? 

She valued her beauty far too highly to wear 
it out by ill temper. So while she was engrossed 
with society, her children were left to the care 
of servants. 

Fortunately in Lora’s childhood a superior young 
woman had been secured as governess, and she 
had remained through ten years of the girl’s life 
and been her moral preservation, as well as in a 
measure supplying a mother’s place to the other- 
wise lonely child. 

This occurring during the formative period, had 
been a most happy providence. 

But less fortunate had the younger children been. 
Ned, left entirely to the care of many different 
people, was now the cause of grave solicitude on 
the part of his father. Thad, a promising boy of 
six, had likewise been entrusted to a succession 
of nurses of various hues and nationalities, few 
of whom possessed any principle. 

But when little Thad made his advent, Lora was 
ten, and as she matured became more and more 
a helpful influence in the child’s life, and in a meas- 
ure, her pure character and good sense, acted as 
a corrective force to the unlimited indulgence he 
received at the hands of the household. 

Because of this, his father entertained strong 
hopes that his young son would escape some of 
the pitfalls into which his eldest had already fallen. 


88 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“Such a darling as Thad is,” Lora said one 
evening, while sitting with her father. “But I 
just rack my brains to think what to do with him. 
Mamma says he is all right, but I feel he will be 
spoiled if I do not make him mind. Don’t you 
think so?” 

“Yes, indeed, my Sweet. My only hope lies in 
your influence. He is capable of so much and you 
must bring it out.” 

“He is the brightest boy I ever saw, papa, but 
it seems as though every one spoils him faster 
than I can help. Still he loves and listens to me 
a good deal. Muriel has helped me so much. She 
never talks goody, but she lives just like a flower, 
and is so lovely to her little brother. Papa, what 
makes their home so different from ours?” 

Mr. Alexander’s face saddened. “O Lora ! dear 
daughter, don’t !” 

Lora noticed a pained expression on her father’s 
face that she had never seen before. Almost a con- 
vulsive sob shook the powerfully built man, but 
he mastered it in a moment. 

“Papa! papa! what was it hurt you?” Lora 
threw her arms around his neck. 

“There! my child; I am all right, only a little 
tired to-night. I had a hard day, but you rest 
me so much. Now smile again, little girl. I should 
think our home is different from Mr. Robbins,” 
said Mr. Alexander, trying to speak lightly and 
divert Lora from too penetrating thoughts. “Ours 
is considered a mansion, while theirs is but an 
ordinary, though pretty home.” 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


89 


“Oh, it isn’t the house, papa, but such a nice 
feeling about the place. I love to go there. It 
seems so like a home.” 

Mr. Alexander sighed and the troubled look re- 
turned. He had learned to battle with his own 
heart loneliness, and was usually its master ; but 
when he read the heart hunger of his precious 
child, and knew that his boys were missing the 
priceless training these others were receiving, it 
was a sword’s thrust. Yet, so loyal was he to 
the woman he had led to the altar, that he never 
had in action or word revealed this feeling to his 
most intimate friends. 

He had married Marie for her beauty and soon 
learned that the admiration of one loyal heart was 
insufficient to satisfy the vanity of her soul. But. he 
escorted her to social functions, treated her with 
every mark of courtesy, and surrounded her with 
all that she desired. Thus they lived on pleas- 
antly, with few jars; but alas! with few heart 
throbs answering to heart and love’s highest com- 
munion, how sadly wanting. 

Yet Mrs. Alexander was not a bad woman at 
heart, but simply too engrossed with this world 
and the things thereof, to give much attention to 
nearer, dearer claims. She did not realize that, 
like the small but constant creeping of the silent 
footsteps of the sea, the wall of adamant is under- 
mined and its ruin stealthily accomplished; or that 
little by little the world, with its dazzle and shine, 
was silently bearing her away from her dear pos- 
sessions. 


90 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS . 


Mr. Alexander had been faithful in the least, 
as well as in the greatest of his marriage vows ; 
but the pang that smote him so keenly and nearly 
mastered the strong man, was due not only to 
the sorrow he felt for his children, but because 
swiftly before his mind arose a picture of a true 
womanly face. For a moment it held him. He 
could not withstand those eyes, and his soul 
bowed down with reverence ere he was aware. 
The anguish was fierce, but, happily, for Lora’s 
sake, of short duration. “Good night, dear,” he 
said a little later, as he kissed her fair forehead. 

Escaping to his own apartments he sank into his 
great leather chair in front of the glowing fire 
and abandoned himself to the emotion he had 
quelled for the time. Now it would have its way 
and the same face loomed up in the firelight. 

He could endure it no longer. 

♦ 

“I must not see it, I must not think, or my brain 
will reel !” Back and forth, back and forth he 
paced, no longer able to bear inaction. 

One voice came to his ears, one presence alone 
seemed to pervade his very being. “I must , I shall 
be loyal in thought as well as outward action,” 
was his agonizing mental cry, “but O God! God! 
God !” 

The strong man went down before the long pent 
grief of a starving heart. 

A loud noise as of a heavy falling body brought 
the servants and Lora to the room, where lay the 
master of the house in a state of unconsciousness. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


91 


Lora, whose intense love for her father amounted 
to worship, alone was cool enough to control the 
excited servants. She ordered them to place him 
upon the bed and bring a physician, “one or a 
dozen.” She loosened his clothing and applied all 
the restoratives her limited experience enabled her 
to, and after the doctor’s arrival could not be per- 
suaded to leave her father through the long hours 
that followed. 

Mrs. Alexander was at Mrs. Grandalee’s ball, 
and coming home in the early morning was amazed 
to see her home ablaze with lights, while excited 
servants were flitting too and fro. 

“What is it?” she asked hysterically. 

And upon being informed, let it be placed to 
her credit, that a genuine pang struck her heart. 

She threw aside her wraps and went straight 
to her husband’s bedside, in all the brilliancy of 
her ballroom attire. Lora, doctor, and nurse, were 
looking anxious, for Mr. Alexander had not re- 
gained consciousness. 

“Hush !” said the doctor, somewhat sternly, “You 
cannot come here.” 

“Cannot see my husband?” said Mrs. Alexan- 
der, unused to being commanded. “Well, I will !” 
She leaned over his pillow and placed her fair hand 
flashing with jewels upon his forehead. “Alex,” 
she softly whispered. 

“I tell you, Mrs. Alexander, it is unwise to 
arouse him,” said the doctor, coldly. 

She stepped back and stood a little distance, toy- 
ing with a flower she held. She half smiled as 


92 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


she looked down at it, for her nature was so unac- 
customed to pain she would not admit the situation 
to be grave until forced to. 

Presently Mr. Alexander opened his eyes, and 
the first object he saw was Marie, in all her beauty 
and glittering robes. For an instant he smiled at 
her admiringly, then a swift look of pain ensued, 
succeeded by a spasm of anguish. 

“O Marie! Marie!” he called in a troubled way, 
“You are so very beautiful, but too bright; you — 
you hurt me.” 

“Go!” commanded the doctor* and Mrs. Alex- 
ander went swiftly from the room. 

Mr. Alexander sighed so profoundly that the 
good doctor shook his head. “Mental trouble,” he 
thought, but wisely kept it to himself. 

Mrs. Alexander felt a strange feeling tugging 
at her usually light heart. Why did she suddenly 
revert to the night of her betrothal, and seem 
to see herself and “Alex the Conqueror,” as she 
had playfully called him, standing again in the 
moonlight ? 

“My Alexander the Great,” she had named him, 
and he had been that to her all these years. 

She still looked up to, and loved him all that her 
shallow nature was capable of doing. 

“O Alex !” she thought remorsefully, “I am 
afraid I have neglected you.” So, leaving her 
chastened thoughts, we pause a moment in the sick 
room. Lora, white and wan with her all night 
vigil, was questioning the doctor. 



MRS. ALEXANDER 


94 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“The danger is past,” my child. He on’y needs 
sleep and nothing to excite him. A day or so in 
the hands of this good nurse will fix him up all 
right.” 

Lora went to her room. It had seemed as though 
the night would never .end. “My father! ly 
father !” The brave girl gave way at last to a flood 
of tears. “He isn’t happy, and I know it.” 

Had Mr. Alexander been conscious that his se- 
cret pain was even partly divined by this treas- 
ured child, it would have wrung his heart afresh, 
for he desired to shield her from every rough wind. 
“No blight shall touch my flower while I can pre- 
vent it,” was his frequent thought. 

The doctor was right. Rest restored the tired 
nerves and the lives of the household went on 
in the same old way, except a keen observer 
might have noted a deeper interest in Mrs. Alex- 
ander’s tones as she inquired after her husband’s 
health, for she had not entirely forgotten the shock. 
But her light nature could not brood and the 
world with its old allurements soon held again first 
place in her time and the thought. 

But Lora could not forget the revelation that 
had come to her on that terrible night, and was 
doubly solicitous of her father’s comfort. 

Sometimes she almost forgot the shadow, for 
he seemed happy with her, as indeed he was, for 
her pure love was like a guardian spirit hovering 
over him, and had ever been since her sweet life 
began. 

A Study in Life Tints! Truly it is. Here a 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS . 


95 


glimpse of a strong man’s pain, there a peep at a 
shallow nature ; again a flood of light strikes across 
the cloudy outlines of a life, gilding it with glory 
ineffable. Then the monotonous, apparently never 
ending prose of life, when the dull pages weary 
us and we beckon on events impatiently, heedless 
of the fact that their coming may bring sorrow as 
well as joy, and change perchance the entire cur- 
rent of our lives. 


Chapter XII. 


A cozy little room on the fifth floor of a second- 
class rooming house. Cozy, because in it was a 
cheerful fire and two lively girls. A merry con- 
versation was ensuing as they flitted about arrang- 
ing little articles of feminine apparel and emptying 
a small trunk which stood in the middle of the 
room. 

“Oh, isn’t it splendid !” exclaimed Elsie. “I am 
glad, gladder, gladdest that we came !” 

“I should say!” replied Nelle, enthusiastically. 
“We’ve enjoyed life more during these three days 
than in all our lives before, shut up in that stupid 
little town. I really pity the people who have to 
stay there all of their days and never see anything 
of this big world.” 

Nelle paused a moment to survey the room. 

“I am going to put the trunk here in the corner 
and drape something over it ; make a cozy corner 
of it, don’t you see?” 

“You are a jewel, Nelle. You have resources 
and a very artistic eye. I believe you could trans- 
form a desert place into a rose garden.” 

“I can’t spare any quarters, so don’t be too 
lavish with your compliments, please. I am going 
to put this little picture up here and you put your 
mother’s there. Now, don’t that look all right?” 

96 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


97 


Nelle stepped back and looked at her work crit- 
ically. “It looks just splendid !” admired Elsie. 

“Won’t we have fun housekeeping?” said prac- 
tical Nelle. 

Elsie was in gay spirits over her first peep into 
the great world, and easily dazzled by its splendors. 

“I have been embracing myself all day to think 
we did it.” 

“Did what?” queried Nelle. 

“Came, of course. I cannot think of anything 
else, can you?” 

“Hardly, but I have a little about that lady at 
the depot who was so nice to us. I mean the nicely 
dressed woman all in black who spoke to us first 
and wanted us to go with her.” 

“She was very ladylike and it was kind of her 
to be interested in strangers. I wonder why she 
left us so suddenly when the depot matron came 
to us?” Elsie answered. 

“I wonder, too. Perhaps if we had gone with 
her we would have found a nicer place; but then 
this is cozy and cheap.” 

So they prattled gaily on, fortunately shadowed 
little as yet by the cares of life. Happy girlhood ! 
Who would not shield you from life’s sorrows as 
long as possible. Oh, that the manhood of the city 
were purer, and the womanhood truer, to help 
protect your innocence. 

After a sound sleep, from which they awakened 
rosy and refreshed, they regaled themselves with 
the remains of yesterday’s lunch and started forth 
like two lambs to find a niche in the bustling city 


98 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


where they could earn enough to supply their sim- 
ple wants. 

From one employment bureau to another they 
went, always finding so many applicants ahead of 
them that their case seemed hopeless. Next they 
tried the department stores without success. At 
last, just as they were returning home, footsore and 
weary, Elsie was fortunate enough to win the favor 
of the head man of the Wright Bros., manufactur- 
ers of rubber goods. 

Elsie’s rosy cheeks, bright eyes, and vivacious 
manner, had certainly proved attractive, and she 
was elated over securing a position which would 
bring her five dollars per week with chance of pro- 
motion. 

Nelle’s spirits were evidently drooping. 

“Never mind, Nelle dear,” said warm-hearted 
Elsie, putting her arm within that of her friend’s, 
“I will be promoted soon and then we’ll be all 
right.” 

Nelle brightened. “Oh, well, I didn’t expect to 
get something right away. I am glad one of us 
has work.” 

Very hopeful and happy they were, as they 
wended their way through the crowded thorough- 
fare, pausing now and then to gaze at the fas- 
cinating windows. And later, while they cooked 
their evening meal, how their tongues ran on about 
the wonders of the great city. 

“You must write to your mother this very, night, 
Elsie,” said Nelle, who, although younger, was 
by far the more thoughtful of the two.” 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


99 


“That’s so! I have so much to tell I don’t know 
where to begin.” 

Leaving Elsie to her home letter, Nelle seated 
herself upon* the trunk, there being but one chair, 
which they laughingly agreed to take turns using. 
She was soon lost in a book that her teacher had 
given her when they parted. It was entitled, 
“Through the Dark to the Day,” and^was written 
by a woman who had lived deeply herself ere she 
sought to guide and inspire others. 

Nelle’s teacher had watched the girls depart 
with many misgivings. “Elsie is so impulsive, and 
Nelle so sweet and trustful, I hope they will fall 
into good hands. It is hard to let them go off 
alone, not knowing where to go.” 

She had selected this book for Nelle, hoping it 
would appeal so strongly to her heart, that in some 
dark hour, or crisis in her life, it might tide her 
over and lead her into the day. 

Reading amounted to a passion with Nelle, and 
most of the literature she had come in contact with 
had been of a wholesome tone, so she had sipped 
little or no poison. 

Day after day passed and still Nelle found no 
work. This was a serious drain upon their reserve 
fund. But at the end of the fourteenth day she 
obtained a temporary place to do piece work. It 
all depended upon her speed. If she became very 
skilful she might earn three-fifty to four dollars 
per weekr 

They had been obliged to cut down their table 
expenses and Nelle had often gone from early in 


100 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


the morning until their slender evening meal with- 
out a morsel. 

Elsie found her in more cheerful spirits to-night, 
for Hope, which belongs to the springtime of life, 
sprang up anew in this pure young heart. 

“I knew you would get something soon, dear, 
and I have splendid news to tell you. Mr. Price, 
the foreman, has been very kind to me, and to-day 
he told me to put away my lunch and go to din- 
ner with him. I thanked him and went, and do 
you believe, he ordered the finest dinner for me, 
chicken and everything! So I saved the lunch for 
supper and you can have all the more. You dear 
child, I’m afraid you haven’t always had enough. 
I wanted to slip half the good things in a napkin 
and bring them to you. It seemed selfish not to; 
but wasn’t that nice of Mr. Price? I just feel as 
if my fortune is made. So cheer up; I’ll take care 
of you, Puss, until you strike such luck as I have.” 

Rosy hope, how little it takes to spread your 
sails, and how far you fly with the slightest breeze. 

Elsie had not received her promised increase in 
pay, but she was glad over the present. Mr. Price 
was pleased with her, so she was satisfied. 

Nelle’s fingers were found to be very deft and 
she bore home in triumph the first week four shin- 
ing dollars. But Elsie noticed with some concern 
that Nelle was too weary for any fun and made 
rather a dull companion for the lively girl, whose 
work was not so strenuous, or her application to 
duty so close, that she yet felt severely taxed. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


101 


Besides, was she not growing in favor with Mr. 
Price ? That was sufficient to make her step buoyant. 

“Poor little Nelle !” thought Elsie. “I wish some- 
body would give her nice dinners like Mr. Price 
does me.” 

Nelle dropped to sleep as soon, as her tired head 
touched the pillow, but Elsie was too excited, for 
Mr. Price had come on the same car and insisted 
upon paying her fare. “Another nickel saved,” 
thought Elsie, to whom the pennies meant so much. 
“Mr. Price said that I pleased him more and more. 
How nice looking he is, too. His eyes are so deep 
and ” but sleep closed her own bright orbs. 

After a short time Nelle’s work was ended. 
Then began the same weary quest. Up and down 
the street she wandered, only to be greeted with 
the disheartening news: “Nothing at present.” 

Elsie was a faithful prop, however, for life 
looked very bright to her. Several times Mr. Price 
had taken her to the theater, from whence she 
came home in gay spirits. She wakened Nelle 
to describe to her the dazzling lights and lovely 
dresses. 

“It is a shame, Nelle dear, that you cannot have 
any fun. I am going to take you myself some 
night.” 

Nelle smiled wearily. “No, you shall not, for 
it is all we can do to meet our expenses now. I 
won’t go ; so there !” 

Drifting onward, these gentle ones ! Is it toward 
danger their innocent feet are tending? 

Only a few blocks away were many true- 


102 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


hearted people with daughters not a particle more 
lovely than these homeless ones. But glad and se- 
cure in their own happiness, they heeded not the 
lonely and unprotected lambs who might so easily 
become the prey of the wolf. 

When our real homes become centers of light, 
and the lonely boys and girls in tiny rooms in cheap 
boarding houses, are sometimes invited into the 
warmth and cheer of truly happy firesides, many 
of them will escape the danger of those friend- 
ships that so often work ruin in many a fair life. 


Chapter XIII. 


“But the vision was sealed upon my soul, 

And its memory is shrined in fragrance.” 

During the days that followed Mr. Alexander’s 
illness, Lora found much comfort in the friendship 
of Muriel Robbins, whose home life presented such 
a contrast to her own. Mrs. Robbins spent much 
time with the five children, all of whom were now 
maturing into young womanhood and manhood. 
Lora loved to linger there. 

“Mrs. Robbins, how do you endure it to be 
with disagreeable people, or were you ever?” 

Lora enjoyed these snatches of talk while waiting 
for Muriel. 

“Yes, indeed, I have often been,” the lady re- 
plied. “I know how hard it is, and would like 10 
tell you what came to me when quite weary trying 
to adjust myself to those who vexed me.” 

“Please tell me,” Lora said, eagerly, her beau- 
tiful eyes filling with tears. This little heart to 
heart talk meant so much to her. 

“I was reclining upon the couch when two sweet 
visions came to me. First, I saw myself and two 
others, the one who was disagreeable to me and 
my Muriel. My child clasped the hand of the per- 
son who was distasteful to me, and then mine, so 
that I felt a sweet influence between us on that 
103 


104 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


side, but upon the other there was a break. Noth- 
ing for it but I must take the hand that I recoiled 
from. In other words, I must be in closer contact 
than I desired, as we are obliged to be often in 
every day life. I shrank back, and while the circle 
was left open, suddenly a fourth Form came and 
filled the break, clasping the hand I could not, then 
mine. So between the unpleasant companion and 
myself, on the one side, was Muriel, who has ever 
been to me an angel of light, while upon the other, 
spanning the space, was a Form whose kingly 
bearing raised Him head and shoulders above the 
rest of us. Behold the completed circle ! And, 
Lora, dear, then I had a glimpse of a fully rounded 
out symmetrical life. And this is the ‘possible 
(attainment) that lies beside us ever fresh, fairer 
than aught which any life hath owned, making 
divine amends.’ I realized it now, for all sense 
of irritation left me. I . was stilled in spirit. I 
looked across the circle into the face of my former 
adversary, and in the place of the ill-will I had 
so frequently seen there, I read ignorance, not the 
meanness I had been positive was inbred. Just 
then a line from Lowell came to me : ‘Standeth 
God within the shadow, keeping watch above His 
own.’ She was His and so was I, and with that 
Royal Person between us, the bitterness melted 
away.” 

Lora had never experienced such teachings. “I 
do not wonder that Muriel is so lovely,” she 
thought, “for I never knew a woman so delicately 
refined and sweet before.” 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


105 


“Please, may I hear the next one?” Lora asked, 
wistfully. 

The expressive face before her was an interest- 
ing study to Mrs. Robbins, and she knew that her 
words were taking a strong hold upon the suscepti- 
ble young heart. 

“I was having a trying time in my daily routine 
and near the border line of exhaustion. I closed 
my eyes wearily, but did not sleep. A thought 
came to me about the three Hebrew children.” 

Lora was not familiar with Bible lore and Mrs. 
Robbins saw she looked puzzled. 

“You know those three people with the dreadful 
names, who were ‘cast into a fiery furnace ?’ ” 

Lor^ vaguely recalled hearing the story when 
a child. 

“It came to me that I was right then in a fur- 
nace. Not one of affliction, but nevertheless a real 
furnace, for a multiplicity of annoying things was 
racking my mind and reacting upon my body, so 
that I felt my lack of control. Then I realized that 
life had many furnace fires into which we are 
thrown. It may be ‘a furnace seven times heated’ 
of fierce trouble for some; it may differ in degree 
of intensity, but I believe we are all cast into them 
at times, and I thought with gladness that I was 
not alone in my furnace any more than the He- 
brew children were. The thought helped me as 
nothing else had, for I felt that in my furnace, 
as into the circle previously, came a wondrous 
Form whose Presence hushed the contest in my 
soul, the flames which had blazed so threateningly 


106 


A STUD / IN LIFE TINTS. 


were stayed, and I heard a voice saying: ‘I am 
in the midst , you shall not be moved ! Then, Lora, 
I knew that One who is greater than fire or tempest 
had come into my furnace and that the ‘fourth 
Form’ was like the Son of God.” 

Mrs. Robbins said these words so softly and 
reverently, that Lora sat entranced. Religious talk 
of any kind was like a foreign language to her, 
but this was so genuine and practical she was 
charmed. 

“That kind of a life would be worth while,” 
thought the girl, and all the way home she pon- 
dered it, “I am sure that papa has a furnace, and 
I wish he knew about the Kingly Form who walks 
the furnace and stills the fire. I wish he knew !” 


Chapter XIV. 


“In the furnace God may prove thee 
But to bring thee forth more bright, 

But He’ll never cease to love thee 
Thou art precious in His sight.’’ 

Mrs. Robbins had heard the song for days, “It 
ran in her head,” she said. Little did she dream 
how soon the words would be fulfilled in her life. 
Out of many trials she had come forth stronger and 
more sympathetic with others, but no crushing 
sorrow had ever touched their home. 

Perhaps long expected blows are just as severe, 
but certainly one that comes out of a serene sum- 
mer sky is more astounding at the time, and crushes 
all before it into a dazed numb despair. 

There are pictures too delicately beautiful to be 
caught by the most artistic touch, so there are sor- 
rows so sudden, and terrible that belie all word 
portrayal. 

We pass over the description, which would only 
work agony in the minds of our readers, to the 
sad announcement that the sweetest flower of the 
Robbins’ home was suddenly transplanted to unfold 
its full beauty in a fairer Garden, unharmed by 
the rude winds of earth, unchilled by its sorrows. 

In perfect health and glowing girlhood, a sad 
accident — and the life and sparkle of the home was 
gone ! 


107 


108 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Lora Alexander was feeling specially happy that 
afternoon. She had been upon a pleasant shopping 
excursion with her mother, and returned home full 
of girlish animation over the pretty things she had 
purchased. 

Mother and daughter enjoyed these trips to- 
gether, for Lora admired and was proud of her 
mother’s beauty, and truly loved her. Mrs. Alex- 
ander was likewise fond of this bright daughter 
and of whose deeper nature she stood somewhat in 
awe. 

She had smiled over some of the things Lora 
had told her about the Robbins home life, and 
hoped that they would not make Lora pious; still, 
she respected the family and had no objection to 
the growing intimacy between Lora and her young 
friend, whose attractiveness touched all hearts that 
came within her gentle sway 

“I believe the flowers blossom where Muriel 
steps,” Lora had remarked, as they were rolling 
homeward in their carriage. 

“I do not doubt it, Lora, for she certainly makes 
the atmosphere beautiful wherever she is. I am 
very glad to have you invite her here.” 

Scarcely had they rested from their trip, when 
a boy rang the bell furiously, and when admitted 
rushed by the servant into the room where Lora 
was sitting. 

“It’s a terrible accident and — ” he panted for 
breath. 

“Who? who?” screamed Lora, jumping up and 
wringing her hands as she thought of her father. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


109 


“Muriel Robbins !” 

Lora sank down. She did not faint or lose con- 
sciousness. She wished she might and shut out the 
blinding ache of her heart. 

“No! no! no!” she exclaimed. “It cannot be! 
I saw her yesterday.” They had walked from 
school together. 

Lora had never come in contact with death in 
any phase before, and its sudden touching one she 
fondly loved, filled her with such dismay that she 
shuddered as with a severe chill. All the beautiful 
world had grown dark and cold, her heart cried 
out for her father, whose arms had been her refuge 
in every small grief of childhood; but then she 
remembered that this was something even he could 
not shield her from. The words of Mrs. Robbins 
came to her about the furnace. “O she is in it, 
seven times heated now ! I wonder if the ‘fourth 
Form’ is there, and if she can feel him now in all 
this terrible heat?” 

Mr. Alexander heard the news and hurried home 
to clasp his loved child in his arms. 

“O papa ! papa !” she called, and buried her face 
on his shoulder. 

Mr. Alexander’s heart ached to comfort her, but 
he could not say one word, while across the dark- 
ness of his mind came the words: “If any man will 
open the door, I will come in.” 

“If I had ‘opened the door’ that night, I might 
have helped her bear this,” he thought, remorse- 
fully. 

Lora had sobbed until her tears were gone, and 


110 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


while the ache remained, she could not cry any 
more, for she had wept as only intense natures can, 
and was now suffering sheer exhaustion. 

“Papa, do you think that everybody has furnace 
fires to go through?” 

“I hoped that you would not have for long years 
yet, and never if my love could prevent it.” 

“But papa, you cannot keep it off, and I wish 
I knew about One who goes into the fire and helps 
them bear it! I don’t know Him. Do you?” 

This cry of her heart was like a dagger through 
her father’s. The pain was evident in his usually 
controlled face, but he uttered no word, for what 
could he say? 

As he tenderly stroked her hair, he would have 
given almost anything life held for him to have 
answered her cry for help. 

What was earthly position and wealth? How 
paltry it seemed. How its value shrunk before the 
eternal realities that his child was then facing ! 

It brought back the old struggle. He thought 
of his beautiful Marie upstairs and how he wished 
that she might help them. 

At that moment of weakness there came before 
his mental vision a face full of purity and truth, 
deep, earnest eyes met his. 

“You must go to bed and try to sleep, my Sweet,” 
he said, as he recalled himself. 

“Sleep! Oh, papa, how can I?” 

“I know ! I know !” was all the poor man could 
say, realizing his own powerlessness more than 
ever. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Ill 


Lora kissed him good-night and went slowly up 
stairs. She could not rest, so sought her mother’s 
room. 

Mrs. Alexander was shocked at her daughter’s 
pale face. ‘‘Why, Bonnybell, are you ill?” 

“No, mamma, only it so dreadful it seems like I 
will die.” 

Her mother with real solicitude put her arms 
about her. 

“Mamma, do you know about any One big and 
strong who helps people when such things happen ?” 

It was the first time in the gay and pleasure lov- 
ing life of Mrs. Alexander that her . thoughts had 
been so confronted. She looked down at her only 
daughter and a pang smote her heart. “What if 
it had been Lora?” She patted her softly like a 
little child. It soothed the girl, for who of us out- 
grow, at times, the need of such a quieting touch 
so hushing to childhood? 

“I am going to put you in bed, my Bonnybell, 
and fix you up all nicely for the night. Then, after 
a good sleep, you will feel better.” 

“But, mamma, I wish you would tell me some- 
thing strong. Do you know about the ‘Fourth 
Form’ who walks the flames?” 

“My Bonny, you are ill tonight and it frightens 
me to hear you say such things. I know it was 
an awful shock and I am sorry.” Tears filled Mrs. 
Alexander’s eyes for a moment, as she made her 
daughter comfortable. 

But through the long hours Lora struggled alone 
with her grief. An idolized child, surrounded by 


112 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


all that wealth and culture could desire, yet the 
young girl lay with wide open eyes, staring out 
into the strange unknown, which seemed terrible 
to her now that Muriel was gone into it. 

“I wish I knew ! I wish I knew !” was her heart 
cry. 

Below her father paced the floor until a late 
hour. Self accusing thoughts arose within him, 
and for the first time in his life the proud man 
exclaimed, half audibly, “Yes, I wish I knew Him, 
too, Lora !” 

Stock exchange, the rise and fall of earthly profit, 
seemed strangely trivial, when forced to face these 
vital things of life. 

Was it in vain, the life of that sweet flower? 

All along the way its fragrance had perfumed 
the air with its delicious breath, until its change 
of climate brought not only the Alexanders, but 
many others to consider the deeper side of life, 
and caused them to think, if only for a brief time, 
of the “other world that lies around us like a 
shroud, the world we cannot see.’ 

So young, so beautiful, so lovely in character! . 

Why, why, are such taken when earth has such 
need of their pure influence? 

Holding back the questions which we dare not 
dwell upon, we know that a wise Gardener would 
not leave a rare or delicate plant exposed to a chill 
atmosphere, when he knew it must suffer from 
the rude blast, knew that its fragile beauty would 
be broken, so He, who once through human tears 
was mistaken by Mary, and by a divine intuition 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


113 


called — the Gardener , stooping to observe the ex- 
quisitely tinted petals of this human flower, wisely 
saw that to leave it to bear the keen earth winds, 
and to endure the transition to summer’s scorch- 
ing heat, would be crushing to one cast in so deli- 
cate a mould, so with tenderest compassion He trans- 
planted the flower, and in the fairest of King’s 
Gardens, under skies never darkened by a storm, 
among all the choice spirit flowers of the ages, 
unfolding in full perfection, she lives , “a star of 
perfect day !” 


Chapter XV. 


My Dear Mother: 

I have the best news for you. I’m promoted and 
getting ten dollars a week ! 

Recovered? Well, just tell the kids to put on an 
extra chunk of wood, and Tolly put the kettle on 
and we’ll all take tea.’ 

If I could be there, wouldn’t we celebrate? 

Any way, I was so happy that I only got out of 
the office in time to keep from throwing up my hat 
and yelling ‘Hurrah, boys !’ 

It happened in this wise: Mr. Ford, who is an 
inspector, found that most of the boys spent their 
time at noon in a neighboring saloon, where they 
serve free lunches. 

That makes you shudder, I know, mother, but 
I don’t wonder the poor fellows do, for many of 
them work for starvation wages. Besides, the saloon 
men are awful nice to a fellow. Then, if you can 
get that much free, why, it seems to help out for 
the time being ; but then don’t look scared. I 
know it does not pay in the end, and thereby hangs 
my tale, as well as Shakespeare’s. 

One day Mr. Ford came up at lunch time where I 
sat munching a bun and studying shorthand. 

“Hello ! this looks like industry !” he said, as he 
sat down beside me. 


114 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


115 


“Well, Sonny, why are you not out with the 
boys, getting a free lunch and having some fun, as 
they call it?” 

“I haven’t time in the first place ; besides — ” I 
hesitated, for I didn’t exactly want to pose as ‘a 
goody,’ you know. “Well, the fact of the matter 
is, I don’t think much of free lunches and such 
company.” 

“Bravely said, my boy. You stick to that and 
you will get to the top yet.” 

I never thought of it again, but a week later Mr. 
Ford told me that the general manager, Mr. White, 
wanted to see me in his office. 

I mentally hurried over all my sins of omission 
and commission, while visions of being ‘fired’ 
loomed up before me, and when I reached the door 
I experienced a curious feeling in my knees, re- 
sembling somewhat the way I felt when I spoke 
my first piece the last day of school. Now, I was 
thoroughly convinced that I had reached my ‘last 
day’ with the esteemed firm of White & Co. 

I opened the door and was somewhat reassured 
by the smiling faces of several very nice gentlemen. 

Mr. White shook my hand cordially, while my 
hopes began to revive slightly. 

“So you are the young fellow who does not 
believe in free lunches, and who studies during 
your leisure moments?” 

My heart gave a sudden thud of rebounding hope. 

“Let me see your fingers. You never had much 
to do with cigarettes, it is evident?” 


116 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“I smoked them twice, sir, when with a crowd 
of boys, but they made me sick; besides — ” 

“Besides what?” 

“Well, you see I have a mother who is opposed 
to that sort of thing.” 

“You will do! Stick to your principles and you 
will amount to something yet. Take this note to 
Ford and tell him I wish he could turn off a lot 
of those loafers and get a hundred more just like 
you.” 

May be I didn’t feel pretty good, mother, but 
I knew that you would feel better still. There, 
now, don’t get teary ; I’m not half as good as your 
boy ought to be. 

When Ford read the note he came straight to 
me and shook hands : “I am instructed to give 
you a promotion to ten dollars a week, and if you 
continue to make yourself valuable to your employ- 
ers you will receive fifty dollars a month after a 
while.” 

May be I didn’t nearly go up in the air! Now, 
you give the children a taffy pull in honor of the 
event, and I will foot the bill. As sure as fate, 
Claudius Caesar, as well as Bert, shall go through 
school, and pretty soon you will not take in a bit 
more sewing, mother, for I have grown fully six 
inches since this afternoon, and I am ‘feeling like 
a drate big man,’ as little Fred says. In a few 
years I will be able to take splendid care of you. 
O mother ! Isn’t it the greatest luck ? 

Tell Bess that some day she shall have the doll 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


11 7 


she has wanted so long, the one with long curls 
and that goes to sleep. Don’t sew too much. Tell 
the boys to help you good, or I will attend to them. 
Write by return mail to your grown up son. 


Marshall Thomas Allen. 


Chapter XVI. 


Little Marion had been one year in attendance 
upon the sewing, music, and cooking classes of the 
settlement. She was becoming proficient in other 
ways, and among the many promising children the 
teachers felt Marion to be the most remarkable. 

She returned their interest with an ardent affec- 
tion. Miss Eldah Homesworth was still her idol, 
and under her care she had caught a degree of 
refinement which proved the attainment possible if 
rescued from her environment. 

Mr. Kingsley had worked faithfully to secure a 
case against her people, but as yet had not -been 
able to bring it to fruition. 

So the most they could hope for at present, was 
to protect her as far as possible by instilling a 
desire for purity and higher conditions. 

Miss Homesworth had many heart to heart talks 
with her little charge, and in them she taught her 
the terrible evil of vice, that she must shun it as 
poison. 

The child responded to her touch as the Aeolian 
harp to the playing of its master, the Wind. 

Although Marion had been born and reared in 
an atmosphere whose every breath was polluted, 
still, in strange contrast, there was in her being 
118 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


119 


an innate nobleness which had always caused the 
vicious life around her to be positively repulsive. 

“I hate it !” she often muttered, when obliged 
to leave her friends and return to her so called 
home. 

Miss Homesworth had instructed Marion that 
if any attempt was made to violate her chastity, 
she was to escape, if possible, to her. 

“It appears little short of criminal to leave the 
child in such a place, Mr. Kingsley,” she ventured 
one day to say, in a talk after the children had gone. 

“Criminal it is, but I see no way of deliverance 
at present. I shall never give her up, but I have 
to tread softly, for I have already angered her 
mother and constantly fear she may forbid the 
child’s coming here.” 

“That would be awful ! So I suppose we must 
let her remain a while longer. Mr. Kingsley, I do 
not see how you can endure this atmosphere all 
the time.” 

“I have to look skyward, at the clouds of God, 
often, Miss Homesworth, or I could never bear 
the sight of the sin and anguish of these lives 
about me.” 

“You are heroic, Mr. Kingsley,” Miss Homes- 
worth could not refrain from saying, as she put 
on her wraps to depart. 

The grave face before her lightened as if the 
sun had suddenly broken over a rugged mountain 
peak. 

“No, not that, but I am doggedly persistent. I 


120 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


plod onward whether things look dark or bright. 
I am going with you to the car.” 

Miss Homesworth laughed a clear, ringing laugh 
that was good to hear. “Indeed, you are persistent, 
for as the homely little poem says, you ’keep a-goin.’ 
I laughed because you reminded me of it. I put 
it in my mirror one day when feeling gray blue 
over these life problems, and its effect was so 
instantaneous that I learned it.” 

“May I share its cheer? I need all the inspira- 
tion I can get.” 

“If you strike a thorn or rose, 

Keep a-goin’. 

If it rains, or if it snows, 

Keep a-goin’. 

’Taint no use to sit and whine 

If the fish ain’t on your line, 

Bait your hook and keep on tryin’, 

Keep a-goin’. 

If the weather kills your crop, 

Keep a-goin’; 

When you tumble from the top 
Keep a-goin’. 

’Spose you’re out every dime, 

Gettin’ broke ain’t any crime, 

Tell the world you’re ‘feelin’ prime!’ 

Keep a goin’.” 

“Thank you, I feel much refreshed and ready to 
‘keep a-goin’ again’ ’ again.” 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


121 


“Well, I must be going, or my father will put 
a stop to these trips. You know he objects to them 
very much.” 

Mr. Kingsley looked at her intently a second, 
he escorted her to the car and then with quickened 
step, and more elasticity than usual, passed on to see 
some of his charges. He felt strangely light hearted. 
Some way he always touched a responsive chord 
in his conversations with Miss Homesworth. “She 
is a rare girl,” he thought. He caught up one of 
the children in his arms, and having no deeper clue 
to his thoughts, we must infer that the remark 
applied to the small lady who nestled there so con- 
tentedly. 

“Hush ! you must be awful still, ’tause my mamma 
is asleep,” little Ruth held up her hand warningly. 

“Ruthy and I takin’ tare of mamma. Her seeped 
a long time,” baby Esther said. 

The boys were out doors, so silence was supreme. 

“I’m glad you turned, brother,” Ruth said, for 
mamma doiTt open her eyes at all, and I want her.” 

A misgiving chilled Mr. Kingsley’s heart. He 
stepped to the sick room and looked in. There she 
lay in a tranquil slumber, a smile upon her face. 

He returned to the little ones and they each pos- 
sessed themselves of a knee. But after a time he 
thought the sleep an unusual one in length, and 
went to the bedside. Still the same sweet smile. 
He touched her forehead — “She saw the lights of 
Home far out at sea, and now she has entered 
port !” 


122 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“ I want my mamma to kiss me,” said Ruthy, 
as she tugged at her hand. 

“Me, too,” chimed in baby Esther. “Me want to 
be tissed, too. Mamma, ’ou seeped long enough ; 
tiss me.” 

Poor darlings! Mr. Kingsley’s heart was deeply 
touched for these helpless ones. 

Charlie and John rushed in full of boyish excite- 
ment. “I never did it either ! I’ll tell mamma on 
you, Charlie Coleburn.” 

“Be still, boys !” said Brother, wondering how 
he should break the news to them. 

“Is she worse?” John asked, anxiously. 

“No, she is better.” Then he told him as gently 
as well as possible that she was well forever more, 
but gone to Heaven. 

“My mother gone and left us all alone !” ex- 
claimed John, as the sad truth began to dawn 
upon him. He rushed into the room where she 
was and threw himself upon the bed, bursting into 
a flood of tears, in which he was joined by Charlie 
and Ruth, who only half comprehended their loss. 

“Jesus taked mamma,” Ruth murmured through 
her tears. 

“He must have made a hole in her head, then, 
to get her out of her body.” Charlie stopped crying 
long enough to look critically at the still figure 
upon the bed. “I don’t see any, though. But how 
could he get her away from us when she is right 
here ?” 

This greatest of all mysteries was puzzling the 
child’s mind. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


123 


John raised his head to look at her. “O Brother! 
what will happen to us now?” he questioned. 

“You are God’s lambs, and He will take care 
of you,” Mr. Kingsley said, with a heavy heart, 
for he realized the full weight of the burden that 
was laid upon him. 

“Where shall I put them, and what do first?” 
he questioned. “If I could only adopt them all!” 
His large heart proving expansive enough to take 
in all the lonely children within his reach. 

“They need a lady here. I wish Miss Homes- 
• worth could come. She would know the best thing 
to do; but her people so object that I must not ask 
her to come only to her classes.” 

One of his trusty women helpers being sum- 
moned, he left to make the outside arrangements 
necessary to the laying away of this sweet mother. 

“I went up stairs feeling more buoyant than 
usual,” he mused. “I descend with the burden of 
four young lives laid upon me. No place to put 
them but an orphan’s home, and that seems so hard, 
for they are so bright and lovable. I believe I will 
put their pictures in the paper. They might appeal 
to some childless couple.” 

“Whosoever receiveth one of these little ones re- 
ceiveth Me.” 


Chapter XVII. 


“Oh that refuge from the world where a stricken son or 
daughter 

May seek with confidence of love a father’s hearth and 
heart ! 

Sure of a welcome, though others cast them out; of kind- 
ness though men scorn them, 

And finding there the last to blame, the earliest to com- 
mend.” 

Returning to her beautiful home from the Set- 
tlement one day, Miss Homesworth, chanced to be 
seated by a little shop girl, whose bright face at- 
tracted her. Feeling strangely drawn to the child, 
— for she was only seventeen, — she engaged her in 
conversation, and discovered that the girl and her 
friend were alone in the city. 

“Do you attend any church ?” asked her inter- 
ested listener. 

“No; we went every Sunday for several months, 
but beyond two or three elderly gentlemen who 
shook hands with everybody, no one spoke to us, 
and it made us so homesick that we stopped going.” 

“You dear child ! Haven’t you a friend in the 
city ?” 

“No, Nelle and I are alone, except — ” a fine 
blush overspread the girl’s face. “I have one friend. 
He found out how alone I was, and has been very 
kind to me. He has taken me to the theater sev- 
eral times.” 


124 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


125 


“But do you know anything about him?” asked 
the somewhat Puritanic girl at her side. 

“No, only he is a perfect gentleman and so kind 
to me.” 

Our sweet home girl put her daintily gloved 
hand upon that of the other girl’s, as she said, in 
a winning way, “I would like to have you come 
and see me, will you?” 

“Oh, may I? Would you really like me to?” 

“Certainly, or I would never have asked you, 
and I am going to call upon you, so please give me 
your address.” 

“Oh, will you?” 

The pleading tone was full of pathos. 

Miss Homesworth felt this young girl’s danger 
and resolved to befriend her. 

“I will hunt up those girls as soon as possible,” 
she thought, as Elsie left the car. “I really seem 
to be drifting more and more into this work, in 
spite of father’s pronounced objections to my thus 
abandoning a more intellectual career.” 

What a happy circumstance seemed this meet- 
ing, for Nelle, as well as Elsie, had greater need 
of a friend than ever. Not only in the city, but in 
the wide world, the child was homeless. Left an 
orphan at an early age, her life had indeed been 
a checkered one. 

She had made excellent progress in school and 
become a great favorite with her teachers, but her 
life had held little love. 

Poor, hungry-hearted little girl! Type of many 
who pour out their heart’s best affection upon .some 


126 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


rascal of a man, who through politeness and appar- 
ent kindness wins their trusting hearts. 

A roomer on the top floor had noticed bright Elsie 
and sweet Nelle, and then and there in his black 
heart resolved to win the latter’s love. 

Accordingly, at the close of a dreary day, when 
Nelle had fought all the way home the feeling 
that on one in the world except Elsie cared much 
what became of her, she was met at the entrance 
by a gentleman who smilingly said : “Good evening.” 

Nelle was surprised to have anyone notice her. 
It was always Elsie who atracted attention when 
they were out, although Nelle was the prettier of 
the two. 

The gentleman walked down the hall and up to 
her door. You’ve had a hard day and look all 
tired out. You feel discouraged, don’t you?” 

Nelle brightened. It meant so much to have any- 
one interested in her. 

“Did I look blue? I don’t feel so now.” 

They had stopped at her door. “I’ve noticed you 
for some . time and I thought I would like to get 
acquainted. My name is Robb.” 

To think anyone should be so sympathetic and 
care to know her, the homeless one ! 

It was not foolish vanity. A lonely heart often 
grasps at a crumb of comfort and there are moments 
in the existence of every one, when a smile or a 
word of interest, is of priceless value, and that mo- 
ment with dear little Nelle was now. 

“I have made a beginning,” thought the gentle- 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


127 


man, as he passed up the stairway. “She is as sweet 
and modest as she is pretty.” 

That night Elsie found Nelle in strangely good 
spirits, for ere she reached the door, she heard her 
singing, and instead of the spiritless companion she 
had been meeting on her return of late, Nelle ran 
to meet her, smiling brightly. 

“Why, Nelle ! Has fortune smiled upon you, a 
great uncle returned from over the seas, or what 
has happened to make you look like a girl again?” 

“Why, have I been looking like an old woman?” 

“I should say you had, as forlorn as if you were 
going straight to the poor house.” 

Nelle laughed out with real gleefulness. 

“Now, tell me quickly, for I am being consumed 
with that trait which gentlemen are so ready to 
label as a purely feminine quality, although to them 
I would maintain the contrary.” 

“I haven’t a thing to tell you,” Nelle answered, 
without raising her eyes. “I just feel happier and 
I couldn’t tell you why to save me.” 

“My! you look so pretty, I’m afraid if Mr. Price 
saw you to-night he would never look at me again.” 

“O nonsense! Everybody looks at you, your 
laughing eyes, plump cheeks, and mischief, are irre- 
sistible.” 

“ ‘Even exchange is no robbery.’ We are quite 
a mutual admiration society to-night. But I am 
glad you feel happier, for I blamed myself all the 
way home, for I have promised to go out with 
Mr. Price this evening, and I don’t like to leave 


128 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


you alone so much, but he wants me to call upon 
some friends of his, such nice girls, he says.” 

“Oh, go on, I don’t mind. I’ve this new book 
from the library and will have a good time with it. 
But Elsie, this is your night for writing home, and 
you know how it worries your mother when you 
are careless about writing.” 

“That’s so,” said Elsie, with real compunction 
of conscience. “Poor mother !” I wish I could see 
her this minute. I will write to her to-morrow night 
sure, even if I have to break an engagement with 
Mr. Price. 

The bell rang and her escort stood at the door. 
“Good-bye, Nelle, dear. Don’t read your eyes out. 
I’ll be home early tonight.” 

Nelle, left alone, divided her thoughts between 
her book and new friend. 

The next evening and the following, until it 
came to be an expected occurrence, Mr. Robb was 
at the entrance ready to walk up stairs with her. 

Each evening Elsie was delighted to find Nelle 
in such good spirits. 

“It is the strangest thing how you have changed 
lately, Nelle' You are never blue at all.” 

Nelle’s pale cheeks flushed slightly, but she was 
too busy preparing their evening meal for Elsie 
to notice how her eyes brightened. 

Elsie had related the delightful evenings she 
had spent lately with Mr. Price’s friends. “He has 
such charming friends, I wonder that he cares for 
me.” Elsie was one scarlet flame as she made this 
confession. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


129 


Nelle put her arms around her friend, saying, 
“I don’t wonder he likes you. Who could help it?” 

A peep into the depths of the two young hearts, 
until now kept safe and pure. 

Are there not attendant angels guarding such 
winsome, unprotected girlhood? 

Yes, but the guardianship is often entrusted to 
human hands, and when they fail to recognize their 
responsibility, how little hope that these lambs will 
escape the prey of the wolf? 

We trust that the story of Nelle and Elsie will 
not stir the reader for only a moment, and end with 
the perusal of this book. 

Miss Homesworth fully intended to call upon the 
friendless girls, but in some way she lost their 
address. 

Elsie was in excedingly gay spirits of late. She 
felt the stir of new impulses. Life seemed all 
brightness and joy. She worked with a song at 
her heart and was the life of every group of girls 
that she entered. 

Mr. Price became more and more devoted. “She 
will be a pet I’ll not tire of” he remarked mentally, 
as he looked at her admiringly, but in a way that 
would make any reader of the human face draw 
the child within some safe shelter, for it was not 
love’s pure fire that burned in his eyes. 

Alas ! bright little bird, use your wings, fly ! If 
you have any power left to exert, ere your will is 
paralyzed by the new and dangerous influence 
which fascinates you. Fly! fly! for God’s sake, 


130 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


fly to your mother’s humble but pure fireside ! Go 
quickly ere it be too late ! 

“There ! I’ve written mother a nice long letter 
that will cheer her up for a good while.” 

“Give her my love, Elsie. I wish I had a mother 
to write to. I would be better to her than you are.” 

“I dare say you would, for you are a dear child, 
but I always was wayward. Now I must go. I’m 
to meet Mr. Price in the park at eight. Here are 
two kisses, and I will give you one of the roses 
he gave me.” 

Nelle took it, wondering if anyone would ever 
love her enough to give her such flowers. She 
watched Elsie go down the street, and thought how 
hard it would be for them to part when she married 
Mr. Price. “I shall be left alone before long, and 
she is the dearest friend I have.” 

A strang*e depression seized her. She sank on 
the bed and cried so long that at length, exhausted, 
she fell asleep. 

She did not waken for hours, and was astonished 
to find the light still burning and that she had been 
asleep with all her clothes on. 

“Why, it must be time for Elsie to come !” She 
looked at the tiny clock. “Three o’clock!” Nelle 
felt every drop of blood leaving her heart. 

She ran to the window. All was still in the noisy 
street below. “Elsie! Elsie!” she called aloud, but 
the empty room only gave back an echo in answer. 

She paced the floor. What should she do ? 

She thought wildly of hailing the first person she 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


131 


saw pass and ask them to go in search of her friend, 
then the hopelessness and absurdity struck her. 

She put on a wrap and ran down stairs and 
stood in the entrance, hoping to see a policeman, 
but none came. At length, gathering courage 
through desperation, she ran down street to the 
police station, that happily was not far. 

Wild-eyed, she invaded the place and found the 
chief himself, into whose ear she poured her tale. 

He promised to do all that was in human power 
and himself escorted her home. 

Dawn came at last, and Nelle went breakfastless 
to her work. She did not know how she could 
work, with such suspense eating out her heart, 
but she feared she might lose her place if she 
remained at home. 

* * * * 

Mr. Alexander lived far remote from this quar- 
ter of the city, and was, of course, unconscious 
of Elsie’s existence until he picked up the paper 
and read of the disappearance. 

“How terrible!” he exclaimed, as he thought of 
his own sweet daughter, but soon dismissed the 
subject, as it was too sadly common to cause more 
than a passing remark. 

Every little while somebody’s child was disap- 
pearing within the whirlpool of city life. 

“It is awful ! but I have nothing to do with it. 
Thank God ! I am not responsible.” 


Chapter XVIII. 


What the days and nights which followed the 
close of the last chapter were to Nelle, can be 
known only to those who have experienced the 
slow eating agony of suspense. 

She was in torture not only regarding Elsie’s 
fate, but in great indecision as to her duty to the 
girl’s mother. 

Had the mother been in comfortable circum- 
stances, she would not have hesitated a moment, 
but she knew how difficult it would be for her to 
make the long journey, and: each day hoped for 
some clue that would render it unnecessary. 

In all this trying time the only friend she could 
turn to was Mr. Robb, who made the most of his 
opportunity to offer condolences and suggest plans. 

Many of the best people in the city, like Mr. 
Alexander, had read of Elsie’s strange disappear- 
ance, and with several it had touched them deeply 
for a moment, as the thought came : “What if it 
were my child !” But it was a subject too sad to 
dwell upon; besides, as one said to another: “Am 
I my brother’s keeper?” 

But white winged messengers do not hover over 
the sin cursed city in vain. And these shining ones 
find some responsive hearts to whom they whisper 
their messages. 


132 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


133 


Such a soul was Mary Worthington, whose whole 
nature had become more and more attuned to the 
higher things of life, and who was ever quick to 
be thrilled by the call of duty. 

She was making the world beautiful about her 
now for a brief time, visiting in the home of her 
daughter, Katherine Trueman. 

The sweet intimacy of mother and daughter in 
earlier years, had ripened, and as Katherine expe- 
rienced the holy joys of motherhood, she became 
better able to appreciate the fine qualities of her 
own mother. 

It was after a day of pleasure with her three 
charming granddaughters — whose devotion to her 
was fairly idolatrous — that “Big Mansie,” as the 
children named her, was half reclining upon the 
couch, looking so fresh and unwrinkled that it 
would be difficult to pronounce the word “grand- 
mother” in connection with her. 

Suddenly a pained look came over her other- 
wise happy face, and when Noble returned a short 
time after, he found her greatly agitated over the 
sad story of Elsie’s disappearance, of which she 
had read in the evening paper. 

“Noble, something must be done to save that 
girl !” 

“Well, I suppose the policemen are doing all they 
can.” 

“Possibly, if there is plenty of money paid them 
for it. But do you think that if she is a friendless 
girl they will be equally vigilant?” 

“They ought to be.” 


134 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“Yes, but Noble, you know they are too often 
bribed by wrongdoers to help protect themselves.” 

“I suppose so, but it seems a terrible thing to say 
of our city government that it does not protect the 
helpless.” 

Mrs. Worthington slept little that night, and long 
ere the watch was over, her decision was reached. 

She had asked for guidance in regard to her 
own responsibility, and clearly as a clarion call to 
battle, the answer came. She did not wish to mingle 
in this sorrowful story. Her refined and delicate 
nature shrank from contact with evil ; but duty 
was spelled large in this woman’s character, and 
when it was laid upon her she never shirked. 

Next morning found her quite an early caller at 
the home of a friend, whose cultured, wholesome 
face looked the embodiment of motherly kindness. 

Mrs. Nance and Mary Worthington had become 
friends through the latter’s frequent visits at the 
home of her daughter, and these life touchings had 
cemented a strong friendship. 

“What shall we do about it?” 

Mrs. Worthington held out the article which had 
haunted her all night. 

After a spirited talk, these queens of womanhood 
decided that duty plainly called them to the ordeal. 

“I will call for you in my carriage to-night at 
six. My husband will accompany us, and doubtless 
Mr. Trueman will also, if you ask him.” 

Arriving at home, Mrs. Worthington imparted 
the plan to Katherine, who deemed it the height 
of folly and determined she would insist upon 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


135 


Noble’s vetoing it at once. Imagine having her 
mother going into such a quarter of town and 
being mixed up in such an affair! With her old 
impetuosity she declared “she wouldn’t consider 
it for a moment.” 

Mrs. Worthington pushed back Gladys’ curls, 
and as the clear, expressive eyes were lifted to hers, 
said : “Katherine, look down the years and sup- 
pose that Noble was taken away and left this child 
unprotected, imagine how terrible it would be if 
some base wretch gained a hold upon her heart 
and caused her to disappear ! Would you not beseech 
Heaven, almost with drops of blood upon your 
brow, to save your child and preserve the jewel of 
her womanhood unsullied? I feel that some one is 
entreating Heaven for that lost girl, cries of a soul 
in agony reach my heart and stir it almost to the 
point of breaking. Perhaps it is the poor child 
herself pleading for help. I seem to hear her, and 
go I must until I find her.” 

Katherine’s warm heart was touched as she 
clasped Gladys close, saying: “Go, mother mine. 
You are truly one of His chosen ones, but I think 
it is more hopeles sand intricate than you realize. 
To look for the lost in the city is like looking out 
into Infinity.” 

“Yes, but I know of a mother who looked ten 
years in the city for her boy, and found him at last.” 

“Yes, but why should you spoil our happy times 
together and wear yourself out for nothing?” 

“Because we are ‘our brother’s keeper.’ Some- 
body must take the initiative. I certainly do not 


136 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


desire to, but I must. Mr. Nance will find out 
to-day what is being done, and if no one is looking 
after the matter, we must.” 

Katherine remembered that her mother’s decisions 
were reached after grave deliberation and were 
usually inflexible. 

Noble shared Katherine’s feeling, but a few mo- 
ments of conversation with Mrs. Worthington con- 
vinced him that it was futile to try to swerve a 
woman who believed that she was right. So he 
did the only thing remaining for mankind to do 
under the circumstances — prepared to accompany 
her. 

The carriage called promptly at six and they 
were soon followed by a cab with two policemen, 
which Mr. Nance thought wise to have as protec- 
tion to the party. Also as guides to those places 
where human flowers are despoiled of their white- 
ness. 

As they passed street after street of repulsive 
looking dwellings, the whole party shuddered. 

An extremely sad expression hovered over Mrs. 
Worthington’s face. She had never been so near 
to anything contaminating, and it made her heart 
sick. 

But ever before she seemed to see the angel 
pointing — “Onward !” 

Suddenly the carriage stopped, a policeman 
opened the door. “It is dangerous to stop in this 
vicinity. Allow me to advise you to take these 
ladies out of this part of town immediately.” 

Mrs. Worthington leaned forward in all her 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


13 7 


sweet womanly dignity: “Pardon me, sir, but we 
are looking for a girl who has disappeared, and 
I am impressed she may be in that house.” 

“Lady, you are upon a fruitless quest. Hundreds 
of girls disappear every year and can never be 
traced. This is no place for respectable people. I 
cannot think of allowing you ladies to enter that 
abode. These gentlemen certainly will not permit 
it.” 

“No, indeed ! You must not go, mother,” pleaded 
Noble. 

Then her strength of character was in evidence 
and gave her the dauntless courage needful for the 
ordeal. 

Noble, I feel that poor child is there. I am going 
after her!” 

The policeman led the way, protesting to the 
last, “I know it is dangerous to go when that red 
light is displayed, but I will not be outdone by a 
lady.” 

Mrs. Nance and the gentlemen followed, greatly 
fearing insult would be offered. 

But there is a spark of divinity in every human 
soul, and even the vicious have moments when they 
bow in reverence to purity. 

When this queen of womanhood entered the hall 
it was noisy, but as if an angel had suddenly ap- 
peared among them, a marvelous hush stole over 
the entire group of drinking men and women. 

In the center of the group of girls was a figure 
kneeling at the side of a hardened looking woman. 


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A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Her hands were clasped and her whole attitude 
betrayed intense agony. 

Mrs. Worthington hesitated but a moment, then 
with sure intuition she went straight to the kneeling 
girl and laid her firm yet gentle hand upon her. 
“You are Elsie. Come with me. I will save you!”* 

Say not that the power of evil does not tremble 
in the presence of such nobility. 

Not a word of protest was uttered, or a hand 
raised as Mary Worthington led out the trembling 
girl. 

Do angels carry the tidings of the rescued Home ? 

Certainly a chorus of shining ones must have 
made heaven ring with the joyous music over this 
victory. 

A far away mother, humble in this world’s esti- 
mation, was praying that her child might be pro- 
tected from danger. The prayer is answered by 
one of the city’s highest types of noble cultured 
womanhood. 

Of what strange combinations is life made up and 
how interdependent is humanity. 

We cannot all be Mary Worthingtons, nor are 
all called to rescue work, but to be responsive to 
duty’s call and never shirk, is the secret of noble 
living. 


*A true story. 


Chapter XIX. 


Eldah Homesworth was resting upon a lichen 
covered log, oaks tall and grand were about her, 
while yonder the pines made music as the breeze 
played through them. 

She was thinking out loud, as she called the 
soliloquy: “A white dove wings its way through 
the air and flutters to the roof of that antiquated 
hut, purity and earthiness have met, but do not 
mingle. The dove rests her tired wings upon the 
earth, which has not power to soil her innate purity. 
I suppose that is a type of what we are to be, in 
the world, yet not of it.” 

“Pardon the intrusion, Miss Eldah. I overheard 
your remark. May I share your solitude?” 

“Certainly.” 

“Then will you permit me to question your state- 
ment ?” 

“You have my permission.” 

“How may we keep to that high level when sur- 
rounded by the. mire and scum, and obliged to 
breathe the fumes of obnoxious surroundings, in- 
stead of the pure mountain air of life?” 

There are moments when the soul looks out of 
its windows and shines with a light that is heaven 
born. That moment came to Eldah now. 

“I do not suppose we are ever placed in circum- 
139 


140 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


stances so adverse but what we can use our mental 
wings, and, like the dove, fly above the earthiness 
and breathe the pure air of Heaven.” 

“You are so optimistic that you inspire me; but 
your environment has always been pure. How can 
you know what it is to be surrounded by the sub- 
merged tenth of humanity who are seemingly devoid 
of a single desire to better their condition. And 
suppose you were giving out your life to elevate 
the masses, would it not be hard always to use 
your mental wings ?” 

“Hard? Yes, indeed. But look at this forest. 
Was it grown in a year? That sturdy oak, I am 
told, is centuries old, yet it came from a tiny seed 
dropped by one of nature’s messengers, who heeded 
not that an act of blessing was being performed by 
its silent ministry. Yet generations have come and 
gone, and many, like us, have blest the unknown 
benefactor for this shelter from the storm and heat. 
So you are planting seeds in those children’s lives 
which will develop after a while into flowers and 
fruit. Therefore, when the shame and sin of life 
presses you sore, try your mental wings, send your 
troubled spirit out here to the pines, walk in thought 
among them and breathe in their healing proper- 
ties, forgetting the burden and the fret, the stings 
and jars of life, they will sing to you and ere you 
know it, your spirit will be soothed.” 

“Did you ever try your remedy, or, physician like, 
do you shun your own medicine?” Kingsley asked, 
mischievously. 

“No, sir; I speak from experience, for from child- 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


141 


hood an escape to the woods always did me good. 
If I felt cross, I regain my equipoise; if disheart- 
ened, I grew courageous. So now when I cannot 
escape the city limits and pine for the hilltops, I 
think myself out here and after awhile return re- 
freshed and ready to do the next hard thing.” 

“Look there, Miss Eldah. That gray color on 
the mountain is changing into a rare blue. What 
thought does it give you ?” 

“This. That the gray of our disappointments in 
life may change as quickly into a rare beautiful 
blue. The gray settles down over us as if ’twould 
never lift, but often, ere we are aware, the pano- 
rama changes, the landscape lights up, and after 
a little we are out in the full sunshine again. No 
true perspective can be brought out in a picture or 
life, without the shadows. You are in the gray 
now, Mr. Kingsley, but even as we sit here you 
are emerging, and I prophesy you will be in the 
full blue shortly.” 

“You have the inner vision that grasps the hid- 
den meaning of life. It is a rare gift. I am fond 
of bringing my enigmas, for you are sure, Daniel 
like, to find an' interpretation. In this case Marion 
is the unsolved problem. Can you suggest any plan 
of rescue? That is really what I came here to talk 
about.” 

Eldah played with the pencil with which she had 
been sketching and was silent. Presently she came 
out of the deeply thoughtful state into which she 
had lapsed. I have it! I will interest the girls of 
our fraternity in her. It will be something novel 


142 


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for frat girls to do, but I think I can win them 
over. We will make up a wardrobe for her, watch 
an opportune moment, when presto ! Marion will 
disappear from her home and reappear clothed in 
the pretty becoming garments I have been longing 
to fit her out with. Then we will place her in some 
nice motherly woman’s care, whom we will pay. 
We will educate her and she will be our protege. 
Isn’t that a splendid plan? It all evolved before 
my eyes as I began to tell you.” 

“But perhaps the girls will not be so enthused 
as you are, Miss Eldah. Few in your circle care 
what becomes of these unfortunates.” 

“Never fear for the Delta girls, Mr. Kingsley, 
for while I admit that we are rather an exclusive 
set, there’s many a true heart beats under the 
daintily clad exterior. We need a real live object 
to work for, and certainly adopting a child will be 
quite unique.” 

“That relieves my mind if you can work it out. 
But to change the subject, tell me what this dainty 
fairy like vine reminds you of? I do not care for 
the nomenclature, for with all deference to your 
scientific skill, I am less fond of the ruthless destruc- 
tion of these floral apostles than of hearing your 
message as you catch it from their lips. In study- 
ing their secret heart, what say they to you?” 

Eldah was at her very best when this subject 
was touched upon, for she was a born scientist, 
and from childhood the flower stars had talked to 
her, and the evening stars sang to her. All through 
her University course she had made a specialty of 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


143 


science, and was now taking post-graduate work, 
thus was able to speak with authority along her 
special line. 

She held up the dainty vine and it rested lovingly 
against her dress.' 

“As you hold it thus it gives me a thought, Miss 
Eldah. May I tell you of it?” 

“Certainly. Mine will keep and yours will doubt- 
less cause it to ascend in the scale of being. You 
strike the keynote and I will play the octave.” 

“The green of the plant stands for everlasting- 
ness, the foreshadowing, the type of the glory that 
is to be revealed here each year in the miracle of 
the spring, and then beyond life’s changes, that 
which is to glorify our afterward. Then, as it rests 
against your dress, with its delicate tracery, the 
thought comes that true womanhood is like the 
vine, a crown of glory to any man who is pure 
enough to win her.” 

Eldah’s face was a study. She looked away to 
the blue tints upon the distant mountains. She 
evidently was sending her mind out there as she 
was wont to do. She did not blush or take 'it per- 
sonally, as a less rare girl would have done, but 
proved herself capable of high friendship with the 
opposite sex by her good sense and quiet self- 
possession. ; 

Perhaps Mr. Kingsley wished that she would 
not isolate herself thus, for she seemed to have 
escaped. 

The silence deepened, as it may between genuine 
friends, but at length Eldah came out of her reserve 


144 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


and held up the vine: “These dainty, feathery fes- 
toonings are the drapery about the entrance to fairy- 
land, through which I catch a glimpse of ‘mossy 
dells, sylvan streams, laughing waterfalls;’ I hear 
the quaint sounds of the dim old forest, chirp- 
ing insects, the wild canaries, the old black crows 
and the merry brown thrush. I also discover 
a cluster of bluebells that ring their sweet mel- 
ody as I pass. It leads me on deeper and deeper 
into the heart of the Mother Nature, but lest I 
become hopelessly lost and turn into a wood nymph, 
I desist and await your thought.” 

“I am a boy again, led captive by your witching 
tale. May 1 follow my fancy and show you what 
I see?” 

“It will deepen my pleasure, I do assure you, Mr. 
Kingsley, and inspire me to run the scale into 
unknown regions, doubtless.” 

“To us all, presumably, there is a fascination in 
following a winding path through the woodland, 
especially if it be one that is full of surprises. I 
see a genuine wideawake boy going down the path, 
leaping logs in the stream, giving a wild Indian 
whoop, chasing the squirrels, whistling a merry 
tune that awed the birds into silence, then aban- 
doning himself to perfect boyish bliss, baiting a 
fishhook and flinging it far over the water, while 
from that source of comfort denied to womankind — 
a boy’s pocket — he produces a backless book and 
is lost in a thrilling story of adventure. But min- 
utiae grow wearisome. Down the zigzag path of 
life marches the same sturdy lad, running into all 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


145 


kinds of danger, but escaping strangely unscathed. 
The path through the years was a rough one, the 
way often lonely. But a time came when two diverse 
paths met and ran parallel for some distance. The 
small pilgrim, now grown to manhood, met another 
traveler whose uplifting thoughts gave him new 
inspiration. The leaves with their mystic writing 
had found an interpreter, the wayside blossoms, 
hitherto unnoticed, had opened their secrets to him, 
because the fair seer who traveled the path near his 
own had shown him their marvels. But a sudden 
turn in the way leads him afar from the parallel 
route. I wonder if the — ” 

“Supper!” resounds through the forest, just as 
a laughing party of girls and gentlemen break in 
upon the tete a tete. 

“Well, of all things ! Have we found you two 
strays at last? We’ve looked the mountain side 
over and sounded the gong hard enough to scare 
all the animals out of the woods.” 

“Come, now, Kingsley, we’ll take you prisoner 
for giving us this fright, but out of respect for 
your fair companion, we will spare you the humilia- 
tion of handcuffs, but you must precede us, as we 
have orders from the chaperon not to return until 
we brought back the culprits.” 

“There is no appeal?” questioned Kingsley. 

“None whatever!” 

Eldah was now far ahead with the girls, who 
were teasing her unmercifully, as only a college 
crowd can. 

“Eldahrema ! If I had suspected this, I never 


146 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


would have formed part of the investigating com- 
mittee. Why didn’t you give us a hint?” 

“Say, Eldah, Mr. Richmond was fairly consumed 
with suspense over your prolonged absence, and 
nothing would do but we must set out at once to 
recover you.” 

“Eldahrema ! I am very sure your mamma would 
object to such serious talks with Mr. Kingsley, 
whom we all know is nobility itself; but, then, 
think of Mr. Richmond’s worldly prospects and 
don’t become too heavenly minded,” added Myr- 
telius. • 

“Eldah is a born philanthropist, girls, and like • 
attracts like,” exclaimed Dorothea, who was at 
once the life and torment of the camp. “O Eldah ! 
Eldah ! I am almost dissolved in tears at the 
thought of you , a true Delta, Delta, Delta, throw- 
ing away your chance to shine socially and — ” 

“O girls ! Do be sensible ! Cannot a gentleman 
and lady talk together with any comfort?” 

“Not when they shun the crowd in that style 
and manifest such a decided preference for each 
other’s society to the exclusion of the race of man- 
kind,” retorted the ready-tongued Dorothy. 

Eldah rushed on ahead of the rest. She flushed 
and bit her lips. “It just spoils everything,” she 
said; but by the time she reached camp she had 
recovered her poise and was equal to the occasion. 

Kingsley had not escaped the bandying of the 
gentlemen, some of whom envied him the oppor- 
tunity of having for a whole afternoon to himself 
Professor Homesworth’s daughter. 


Chapter XX. 


“Down the zig-zag somebody went, 

On a secret sweet was somebody bent, 

And somebody else must have known the same thing — 

For up the zig-zag somebody came.” 

Eldah slipped out- of the tent before anyone was 
awake for a stroll in the freshness of the morning 
and to seek botany specimens. 

She had become an expert in sketching plant 
life and loved above all things to study it in its 
native haunts. 

This morning she found a curiosity and was 
looking into its heart, completely oblivious of all 
else. 

“Shall the limited finite fathom Infinity?” she 
said, gazing earnestly at the mystery. 

“Shall man comprehend his Maker, being yet a 
riddle to himself?” A deep, rich voice answered 
her from a path near by. 

“Oh, good morning, Mr. Kingsley. I am glad 
to have your philosophical mind to aid me. I am 
filled with wonder at this. Can you help me fathom 
it?” 

“I answered your question with another, Socrates 
like.” 

“I know it, but we cannot delve deeply enough 
147 


148 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


to satisfy me. There are always unexplored depths 
that lure me on.” 

“We pant, we strain like birds against the wires; 

Are sick to reach the vast and the beyond ; — 

And what avails, if still to our desires 

Those far off gulfs respond? 

Contentment conies not therefore; still there lies 

An outer distance when the first is hailed, 

And still forever yawns before our eyes 

An Utmost that is veiled.” 

He quoted. 

“I know it, my friend.” She liked to call him 
“my friend.” It expressed the strength he was 
to her. “But there is the delightful thought of 
progression which is a proof of the immortality 
of the soul.” 

“Yes, we recoil from the thought of negation, 
passing into nothingness. All nature disproves such 
a theory by the resurrection of her subjects every 
year. The miracle of the Spring is an exhaustless 
source of interest to me.” 

“I would like to discuss evolution with you, Mr. 
Kingsley; but, dear me! there’s the breakfast bell, 
and — ” Eldah felt a flush tint her cheeks at the 
remembrance of yesterday’s volley of teasing. 

Mr. Kingsley, with true tact, divined the cause, 
and suggested that they take opposite paths back 
to camp. 

Eldah flew up the path and entered the tent 
quite out of breath, but with sparkling eyes and 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


149 


such a fine color that all remarked about the moun- 
tain air agreeing with her. 

She was animation personified in displaying her 
woodland treasures, but when Mr. Kingsley saun- 
tered carelessly in, she became suddenly quiet. 

These two are beginning to avoid each other in 
public. 

Mr. Richmond’s quick eye noticed the silence on 
Eldah’s part, the almost total indifference that Mr. 
Kingsley manifested toward her, and thought: “I 
wonder if they have had a certain talk and she 
has refused him? They have been such open friends 
until now.” 

Richmond brightened up and Eldah thought she 
never saw him look so handsome. 

Breakfast was a lively meal, and when Dorothea, 
Myrtelius, and several bright people got started, it 
became quite hilarious. 

Dorothy’s (the acknowledged leader in all mis- 
chief) eyes were dancing as she put the following: 
“Why is it that when a certain fair botanist is 
seized with a fit of exploration, a famous philan- 
thropist is affected similarly?” 

“Wireless telegraphy !” shouted the crowd, while 
everybody enjoyed the fun except the parties con- 
cerned and Mr. Richmond. 

Eldah could have annihilated herself upon the 
spot, so indignant was she at the rose color that 
came and went in her face. 

Mr. Kingsley was deeply interested in his diges- 
tion, apparently giving minute scrutiny to the study 


150 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


of breakfast foods and absorbed in the momentous 
question of demand and supply. 

Mr. Richmond looked as moody as he had been 
previously gay, while his thoughts are better left 
unrecorded. 

“Dorothy, did you ever play peek-a-boo in the 
days of your youth, and haven’t you forgotten it 
yet?” queried Myrtelius. 

“Yes,” answered the wayward young lady, not 
to be outdone at the thrust at her Paul Pry quali- 
ties, “but I am convinced that this is an age of 
marvels. We stand upon the* threshold of great 
events. Why, I recall a similar strange atmospheric 
occurrence that happened in my unsophisticated 
teens, while I chanced to be a guest at the home 
of a friend. I was unaware that the parlor was 
occupied, and distinctly recall how the sudden open- 
ing of the door produced the strangest effect, for 
it sent two young people to the ends of a sofa and 
set them to counting the figures of the carpet.” 

A peal of laughter followed this explanation. 

“There was certainly some powerful atmospheric 
pressure going on about that time, to move human 
beings around like that,” laughingly remarked the 
host, who thoroughly enjoyed these young people. 

“Miss Dorothy, I am sure that I voice the sen- 
timent of all, when I say that it is our unanimous 
desire to be present when you make the fatal 
plunge,” Mr. Kingsley came out of the study of 
cereals to say. 

His laugh rang out heartily, a keynote to the 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


151 


whole man. It was one of those contagious laughs 
which makes the world, brighter. 

“Morning air is a great tonic, Kingsley. I would 
advise you to continue to take it large doses/’ one 
of the gentlemen remarked, as he glanced in Eldah’s 
direction. 

“Eldah ! I have been fairly consumed with curi- 
osity to fathom the mysteries of telepathy,” said 
Geraldine. “Now do enlighten us about this wire- 
less business.” * 

“O Eldah !” exclaimed merry Dorothy, “do tell 
me what I shall say mentally when I want to meet — 
to meet Geraldine, you know?” 

“O do tell us !” chimed in a chorus of girls’ 
voices, “we want to know how to ring up mentally 
our — ” “Our brothers,” laughed Dorothy. “En- 
lighten us, thou fair seer.” 

“Eldah, if I were in your place I would compel 
them to delve into it for themselves,” remarked the 
chaperon. 

Eldah gave her friend’s hand a grateful squeeze 
under the table. 

So with merry thrusts the party broke up for 
the day. 

“We are to meet promptly to-night at five for 
supper, and as this is our last campfire, everybody 
get your stories out and polish up for the event, 
if you haven’t any new ones,” announced the 
chaperon. 

All forenoon Mr. Richmond was a moody com- 
panion. He disdained fishing and nothing that the 
rest found pleasure in had any charm for him. He 


152 


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felt dissatisfied with everything, and perhaps with 
himself most of all, for with all his wealth and 
social advantages he was beginning to find that 
his life lacked something. What the something was 
had come to him strongly of late, and the more he 
realized it the unhappier he became, for it seemed 
receding from his grasp. “I cannot endure this,” 
he mentally decided. “I must know before we leave 
to-morrow, and this evening there will be no oppor- 
tunity. I will take her for a walk* this afternoon.” 

But the more he thought of it, the harder it 
appeared; but suspense was not to be endured by 
one of his temperament. 

He spied Eldah apart from the rest and asked 
for the pleasure of a walk with her about three p. m. 

Eldah readily promised, for she felt a pleasure 
in his company, although never like going under 
the surface with him, just having a bright, pleasant 
time. 

She could but feel his admiration, but was so 
little given to flirting, and, in fact, was so far 
beyond it, that she considered his feeling for her 
merely such as true men accord to pure womanhood. 

So she went down the dear old woodland path, 
while the sunlight was glinting the leaves and mak- 
ing the place beautiful with its witching spell. 

Poor .Richmond had never experienced so trying 
an ordeal. Eldah, however, divinely unconscious 
of his struggle, was able to converse fluently upon 
almost any subject, and kept the conversation flow- 
ing at such a rate, that he wondered if he would 
find an opportunity to say the words that were in 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


153 


his heart. One moment he wished he might fly 
to Europe, the next that they might find a deserted 
island and never quit it. They were seated upon 
a mossy bank and the sunshine softly touched her 
hair, making a halo of glory, so Richmond thought, 
about her pure womanly face. 

“I will give all I have upon earth to win her,” 
thought he, but his lips seemed sealed. 

Just then Eldah looked at her watch. “The after- 
noon has flown, Mr. Richmond. Do you know we 
have just time to get back to camp for supper?” 

Mr. Richmond sighed, “Well, the best times 
always go too swiftly and I should have said two 
o’clock.” 

Eldah was her entertaining self all the way back 
and quite enjoyed the sensation it made when they 
met the surprised looks of the rest. 

“Anyway, I’ve thrown them off the track and 
they will have something new to tease about,” she 
thought, triumphantly. 

Dorothy got behind a tree, rolled her eyes trag- 
ically, threw up her hands in dismay, as she whis- 
pered to Geraldine: “Two of them! The plot 
thickens !” 

Mr. Richmond glanced across at Mr. Kingsley 
with a feeling of triumph for the moment. “Any- 
way, I had her all to myself these two hours.” 

Mr. Kingsley apparently was unconscious of the 
late arrivals. Eldah looked up to meet her friend’s 
welcoming eyes, but he was otherwise interested. 
Myrtelius and he were engaged in a lively chat. 

That evening around the camp fire the stories 


154 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


flew thick and fast. Ghost stories that would make 
nervous people see witches through half the night. 
College reminiscence abounded, stories of midnight 
feasts, hairbreadth escapes, and thrilling adventures, 
made the evening one round of gaiety, until it was 
a late hour, when the hostess announced that “like 
Israel they must flee to their tents or dawn would 
overtake them.” 

But imagine a dozen girls trying to sleep on the 
last night of camp life. 

“Let’s have a potato roast down on the beach,” 
suggested Dorothy, for they were camping among 
the Adirondacks and near a beautiful lake. 

“Mrs. Maine will not allow it,” responded a duti- 
ful maiden. 

“Never mind such a trifle as that. I’ll assume all 
the responsibility in case of discovery.” 

All but two or three were enthusiastic. 

Mr. and Mrs. Maine occupied a summer cottage 
and the girls were domiciled in the rear in a large 
tent, while the gentlemen camped some distance off. 

“Only don’t squeal on us, if you are not going,” 
Dorothy said, rather contemptuously, in parting 
with the obedient members of the crowd. 

Mrs.’ Maine was very tired and soon sank to 
rest, from which she was startled by stealthy foot- 
steps. She was positive the girls must be sound 
asleep, so it was surely some intruder. She awak- 
ened her husband — good-natured man that he was — 
who told her it was only some of her flock, so she 
composed herself to slumber, presently to be aroused 
by a loud noise. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


155 


“Something fell, Dick. I heard it!” 

And be it placed upon record that this remarkable 
man did not growl at this second interruption of 
his peaceful slumbers, but sprang out of bed, seiz- 
ing a candle and revolver and darted to the door. 

A hurried flight and . suppressed giggling con- 
vinced him that those girls were only up to some 
mischief. 

He reassured his wife, and once more peaceful 
sheet music ensued. 

The girls were by this time running breathlessly 
toward the beach, dodging behind trees to escape 
detection in case they were followed, and dropping 
potatoes every few steps, which gave them a lively 
chase down hill to recover. They finally landed 
with their burden and were enthusiastically receeivd 
by the girls who had first escaped. 

“Exactly one apiece,” Dorothy announced, “so 
you can fix your appetites accordingly. Eldah and 
I did our level best to get more, and if you could 
have known the time we had to secure these ! I 
know that every identical potato had a separate 
tumble on the floor and ^we were on the eve of 
discovery several times by mine host and hostess.” 

The night was warm for that altitude and ideal 
in beauty. A full moon made it as light as day. 
They soon had a big bonfire and their potatoes 
buried in the sand. 

“O Eldah! We haven’t any salt!” exclaimed Ger- 
aldine, in dismay, for the idea of saltless potatoes 
was not inviting. 

“Yes, we have,” producing a salter that she had 


156 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


carried in her blouse, “but I couldn’t get hold of 
any butter.” 

“I did, though.” Myrtelius drew out a package 
she had slipped into a cracker box. 

“Hurrah!” shouted the girls. 

They had each provided a blanket and, Indian 
fashion, had rolled themselves up and laid down 
by the fire to enjoy the beauty of the scene. 

The sky was couldless save for a few fleecy 
ones which made a most picturesque effect when 
lit up by the moon, while one bright star hung low 
over the water. 

Our scientist loved astronomy, and for some time 
her thoughts were busy tracing the Pleiades and dif- 
ferent constellations. “Fifty years it takes for light 
to come from the nearest fixed star,” she mused. 
“Then if light began to travel all those long years 
before I was born, it has not reached us yet.” 

An artist would have gladly caught that look 
of uplift which was upon her face. 

But in the midst of all this grandeur came the 
feeling of some soul near her, wakeful, too. A 
sense of depression stole over her for a moment. 
“I feel as though some one is thinking of me, and 
they are sad thoughts,” she said to herself. 

* * * * * * 

At that moment Mr. Richmond was lying wide 
awake looking at the same scene and struggling 
with his heart. 

“She is the only woman I ever desired to possess, 
and I can win almost anyone,” he said, pulling his 
handsome mustache. “But she does not care so 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


15 7 


much for wealth as brains. Still, it is not that alone. 
I believe she would require a pure standard of life 
from a man, and, by George, she ought to have it. 
She is worthy of the best. I wish I had half the 
nobility of Kingsley. He isn’t handsome, hasn’t 
money, but everybody feels that he has character. 
Confound him, anyhow ; ‘I wish he was in the Isle 
of Man.’ ” 

The object he wished transported was slumbering 
peacefully at his side. 

Mr. Richmond raised on his elbow and looked 
at him critically. “Not a striking face; but wait; 
that’s a good forehead, and there is something 
manly about him. It does not show in any one 
feature. It is the man himself.” 

He dropped to his pillow again. “I can’t stand 
this long. I shall see her soon after we leave camp 
and know the worst. Then, if it’s all up, I’ll clear 
out for Europe as soon as possible.” 

Eldah shook off the feeling of sadness by in- 
vestigating the potatoes, and discovering that they 
were thoroughly cooked, aroused the sleeping girls. 

Those who have never experienced a potato roast 
on the beach, have much yet to anticipate. Wrapped 
in their blankets, and with hair streaming in all 
directions, they looked quite wild enough for a 
party of young squaws, as they circled about the 
fire, munching their potatoes. 

“We must see the sunrise on the lake, and then 
slip back to the tent before the folks are up,” Dor- 
othy announced. 

Geraldine, the artist of the crowd, had been very 


158 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


busy with her sketch book, while Dorothy was 
writing up the escapade for. the next month’s Col- 
lege Magazine, of which she was the spicy and val- 
ued editor. 

Eldah had spent most of the night in silence, 
drinking in the beauty. She thought with awe 
of the power and Almightiness of God. Her heart 
thrilled with deep joy. “Who calleth them all by 
name, by the greatness of His might,” she mur- 
mured, and then, lulled by the cadence of the 
waves, she fell asleep and wakened only when the 
sun was climbing high above the lake. 

The rosy light had faded, she had missed the early 
splendor. “But then I had all the glory I could 
stand,” she said, as they gathered up their belong- 
ings to steal homeward ere the camp was awak- 
ened. 

They found all quiet, and without any compunc- 
tions of conscience — for it is said that college people 
soon dispose of .what they possess — the girls tum- 
bled into bed and had a good hour’s sleep before 
the rising bell. 

Camp was broken at 9 a.’m., and thus ended 
two weeks of delightful life for the Delta’s and 
their brother fraternity. 







... m* 


|yp* .yp-pr - y 






_ v‘. ^fcAj^jaoaK^r'^yBi aF Jek&i Simp. 



DELTA CAMP 


Chapter XXI. 


“And the postman (that genius indifferent and stern, 

Who shakes out even handed to all from his urn, 

Those lots which so often decide if our day 
Shall be fretful and anxious, or joyous and gay) 

Brings each morning, more letters of the one sort or 
another 

Than Cadmus himself put together to bother 
The heads of Hellenes.” 

“A bundle of letters from home, Noble! They 
just came on the last delivery. I had callers and 
haven’t had a moment to look at them, so now we 
will wait until dinner is over to enjoy them to- 
gether.” 

In the pretty dining-room was an interesting 
group. Gladys’ expressive face was just now 
thoughtful: She was pondering some deep question. 
“Papa, when God made the world, did he take the 
little scraps and make the stars?” 

“I was not present, Gladys, dear, so cannot in- 
form you. 

Katherine caught the disappointed look upon the 
child’s eager questioning face, and with sweet moth 
erly tact changed the current of her thought by 
giving it a new bent. 

She had formed the habit of learning helpful 
little quotations, and often found that they fitted 
into the everyday need beautifully. 

160 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


161 


“Gladys, mamma found a sweet thing the other 
day about a violet. I believe you will like it : 

“When God cut holes in heaven 
To let the stars shine through, 

Some little scraps fell down to earth ; 

Those little scraps are you.” 

“O mamma, that’s the sweetest thing that I ever 
read about flowers. Thank you very much,” she 
aded, gravely, pondering the new thought. 

Vera’s eyes sparkled. “While you are lost in 
meditation, fancy free/ we are ready for the sec- 
ond course.” 

Noble and Katherine exchanged glances, for 
where Vera picked up so many apt sayings was 
astonishing to them, but not to a student of hu- 
manity. 

The atmosphere these children breathed was one 
of brightness and refinement. Vera’s quick wit and 
keen mind caught and applied many things which 
seemed beyond her years, but which was the result 
of home life, combined with a natural spontaneity 
that was her mother’s legacy, and had become inten- 
sified in the child. 

“Do our girls ever remind you of Brace and 
Bruce!” Katherine said, glancing at Noble. 

“Very often, Gladys is like Bruce in depth, while 
Vera is a duplicate of Brace.” 

“O goody ! Am I like Uncle Brace ?” Vera adored 
her young uncle above all others. He was just 
out of his teens and still the fun loving boy of the 
family. 


162 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“I do wish Uncle Brace would come to see us !” 

“Perhaps he will. The letters may tell us. Pet 
baby, you are not through with your dessert. Will 
you excuse mamma and let her read her letters?” 
“Certainly,” lisped the darling in the high chair. 

Mrs. Trueman had followed her own mother’s 
method of treating her children as politely as she 
did her guests, and the result was that in spite of 
the never ceasing spirit of mischief abroad in the 
home, her children were not rude and intrusive. 

Noble settled himself for a good time with his 
paper. Katherine was deeply engrossed with her 
letters. Just then the maid came in with a pack- 
age.” I forgot to hand you this with the rest, Mrs. 
Trueman. 

“Thank you, Jane, but try to remember next 
time, for it might be important.” 

When the door closed Katherine sighed. 

“What is it, dear?” Noble asked. 

“I don’t want to bore you with such a trifle,” 
lowering her voice as she glanced toward the chil- 
dren, “but I do wish I could purchase a remember- 
ing machine and inoculate several doses a day. It 
isn’t this, but a dozen times daily, and if I dismiss 
her, I am flying to evils I know not of.” 

“I do wish we could find a second edition of 
your old Mirando.” 

“Don’t I ! Well, they are simply not procurable, 
and if they were, there are hundreds ready to snatch 
them up. I am going to train our girls to be accom- 
plished housekeepers.” 

“Home — not housekeepers. It is a fatal mistake 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


163 


when girls are accomplished in all lines but that. 
If there were more real home - keepers there would 
be less divorce cases.” 

“Divorce! Don’t mention it. It makes me fairly 
shudder when I pick up the daily paper and see 
the long list. It is simply awful. But look here.” 
She had opened the package and now held up the 
picture. “Is she not beautiful ?” 



ERVA 



164 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“She has her father’s eyes, but the ethereal beauty 
of her mother,” Noble responded. 

“Children, come here and see what mamma has 
to show you.” 

A scamper to see who would get there first. 

“Me see, mamma. O her is the sweetest little 
tousin I ever saw !” chirped baby Eleanor. 

“My darling!” exclaimed Gladys, as she gazed 
fondly at the picture. 

“Mamma, don’t she look just like an angel?” 
queried Vera, admiringly. 

“Yes, but she is too healthy to become one very 
soon, we are happy to say. Listen to what Uncle 
Phil says: ‘We send you Princess Erva’s picture. 
She is rosy and well and we celebrated her third 
birthday recently by having these taken. She talks 
everything and grows more lovely every day. Don’t 
you think, Kate, that she has Bruce’s deep eyes ? 

“When are you coming, babies and baggage? 

“Hurry up with your vacation, Noble. We are 
talking of it every day, for although we are the 
hippiest family in the world, it would add to our 
pleasure to see you instead of doing our talking 
by proxy. 

“You know I detest letter writing. As for telepa- 
thy, that may do for separated lovers for a while, 
but I prefer to do my loving at closer range. A 
bear hug apiece. Hurry up, now. 

“Your wayward brother, 

“Philip Worthington.” 

“O mamma ! do let’s go to Uncle Phil’s,” pleaded 
the children. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


165 


“I am afraid you will have little peace now, 
Katherine, with all these urchins clamoring to go. 
I guess we better plan to go next week/’ 

“O papa! next week is an age! I can never wait 
that long!” exclaimed impatient Vera. 

“Next week,” we say, and little dream what even 
the coming day may bring. 

* * * ;Jc 

Noble was detained at his office later than usual 
the next evening and came home to find no bright 
welcoming faces at the window. 

“What is the matter, Jane? Where are all the 
folks?” 

“O ! Mister Trueman, something dreadful has 
happened and the Missis she’s upstairs, nearly be- 
side herself.” 

Noble sprang up the steps three at a time. 

“O Noble! Noble! It’s so awful!” 

Katherine had wept until she was exhausted. 

“Don’t, dearest,” folding her in his arms, “but 
do tell me what it is.” 

She pointed to a telegram on the table. 

Noble read it with trembling hands: “Erva Wor- 
thington fell from the second-story window and 
was instantly killed at 10:30 a. m. Come!” 

Noble could not speak. This sudden, blinding 
sorrow which had overtaken his beloved chum was 
staggering, and no grief but the loss of his mother 
had ever struck him so keenly. He sank in a chair 
and buried his face in his hands, while the tears 
flowed freely. 

“Poor Phil, how ever can he bear it !” 


166 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


The sight of his suffering aroused Katherine. 
“Dear little Gladys. I must go to the child. It will 
nearly break her heart.” 

She put her cheek against Noble’s a moment and 
then flew down the hall in search of her child. 

“Where is Gladys?” she asked of Vera, whom she 
found quietly amusing Eleanor with a most sober 
look upon her merry face. 

“I don’t know, mamma; I haven’t seen her.” 

After a prolonged search, mamma found, her hid- 
den away in the closet at the end of the hall, the 
tear stains still visible on her face, for she had 
sobbed herself to sleep. 

“My precious child ! I left you alone in your first 
sorrow,” thought Katherine, remorsefully. 

She tenderly awakened her and held her quietly 
in her arms. Neither spoke, but both felt com- 
forted. 

Katherine was always a devoted mother, but 
to-night, as she tucked in her babies, she felt a 
new gratitude. 

“Noble, what shall we do about the children? 
I do not think we better take them, do you?” 

“No; I would have Pearl come and stay with 
them. You know they will be perfectly safe with 
her.” 

“That was my thought, so please telegraph her 
to-night. 

* * * * 

Next evening, when they arrived at the shadowed 
house, they were met by Mrs. Worthington, whose 
strong and sympathetic presence was at such a time 
invaluable. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


167 


“Katherine, I think you can help them more than 
anyone else. They have not shed a tear, and will 
not stay away from her. Phil just sits by her 
casket and strokes her hair, with the most heart- 
broken look. If only they would break down and 
weep, they would find relief. I know all about it. 
Our dear Bernice is nearly crazed with grief, but 
is so heroic.” 

Katherine went straight to Phil and put her arms 
around his neck. He sat there so crushed and 
dejected that it seemed her sympathetic heart would 
break to see him thus, and she could not control 
the flood of tears. 

Phil tightened his hand on hers and ere many 
minutes was weeping, too. 

Bernice came softly in and knelt beside him, 
with a face as white as their beautiful child’s. 

“My own ! My wife ! Are you ill !” He took her 
in his arms. “I have neglected you, Queenie.” 

“No, no; you never do that, Phil.” She nestled 
like a tired child in his arms. 

Katherine crept away, feeling they could com- 
fort each other, now that the fountain of the deep 
was broken up. 

Over and over again every day in the year are 
such scenes enacted, and we pause with them only 
because it is a part of life, and we must accept the 
shadows and learn to live on through them. 

Such beautiful spirits as little Erva’s are loaned 
to earth that they may illumine the night and act 
as guiding stars upon our homeward journey. 


168 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


In the bloom of radiant health, the fair child 
unfolded her angel wings, and almost ere they 
knew it, her bright spirit had passed to breathe 
its native air, for it never belonged to earth. 

Bernice dared not think. She was stupefied by 
it. A merry romp with her darling after her daily 
bath, was ensuing. Erva playfully ran from her, 
saying, gleefully: “You tan‘t tech me, Love,” and 
climbed into the window. Before her mother could 
reach her, a nail holding the screen gave way, and 
the next instant the treasure of their lives lay life- 
less upon the pavement. 

Bernice stood still with perfect horror, seemingly 
turned to stone. 

But now they are weeping together and peace 
will come to the overcharged hearts. 

“She couldn’t have suffered any,” Bernice at 
length found comfort in the thought and whispered 
it to Phil. 

“No, thank God for that.” 

“She was too beautiful a flower for earth. I 
always felt it.” 

“So did I, but I wouldn’t tolerate the thought,” 
he answered. 

“We will be nobler for having had her this little 
while, won’t we, Phil?” 

Phil looked again at their treasure. “Yes, I hope 
to be, but as for you, Bernice, you could not be 
more so than you are, and life never, never can 
be empty if all were taken, while I had you.” Phil 
looked down at her, his fine manly face full of 
feeling. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


169 


She smiled a sad response. “No, it cannot be 
desolate while we have each other, but how we will 
miss her!” 

The wail of the mother heart broke forth at 
last, as it has from time immemorial. 

It was what Phil needed to arouse him from his 
own grief. 

He took her in his arms and carried her to their 
room. 

“I have been cowardly and weak while she stood 
by me so heroically,” he thought, with remorse. 

These scenes of real heart devotion are those 
which offset the black picture of unhappy marriages. 

No disannulling of the wedded vow here. 

It is when this type of union is many times mul- 
tiplied that our national life will become purified. 
And when men and women in all the glory of their 
young lives, having wisely chosen, cleave only to 
each other until the death angel steps between, that 
there will not be one divorce for every four mar- 
riages, appalling and almost unbelievable fact. 

Stupendous danger ! menacing the most sacred 
precinct known upon earth, the home life, ruining 
the happiness of thousands of innocent little ones 
yearly, blighting these buds of promise and hinder- 
ing their best development. 

Sorrow has invaded this happiest of homes, 
but Love, who is. sorrow’s master, will conquer the 
shadows, and by and by let the light — into which 
the sweet little life has gone — shine through earth’s 
stained windows. 


Chapter XXII. 


Mrs. Nance had taken Elsie to her own home un- 
til she secured a, better place for the girls, establish- 
ing them in a respectable home for self-supporting 
young women. She had also brought them into 
helpful touch with Mr. Kingsley’s work, and they 
spent their evenings in attendance upon the music 
and cooking classes. Their teachers had become 
greatly interested in them. Thus, having found 
these helpful friends, the current that was fast car- 
rying them out to a dangerous sea, was stayed, and 
they were developing stronger characters daily. 

Mrs. Gilbert mothered the girls at the Settle- 
ment and next after Mr. Kingsley, shared the great 
responsibility. Her heart, which had been left 
childless, went out to all homeless ones, and she 
became invaluable to the work. A strong, well bal- 
anced woman, she had a most helpful inffuence 
over the young people, all of whom felt that in her 
they had a warm and sympathetic friend to whom 
they could go with their struggles. 

Now, circumstances had called her to a distant 
state, and she was having a last talk with her 
friend, who felt the blow of her departure most 
keenly. 

“I do not see any possible way to do without you, 
Mrs. Gilbert, and you have been like a mother to 
me. I am almost shorn of strength at the thought.” 

170 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


171 


Mrs. Gilbert felt deepest sympathy for the brave 
man before her.. 

“Mr. Kingsley, there is no mountain that will 
not lift before such a perseverance as yours. You 
will be victorious, no matter how dark it looks.” 

“But I shall have no one to talk with who under- 
stands the work as you do.” 

“We are often swept afar by the waves of life, 
when we would gladly remain near; but if we 
do our part upon whatever shore we are tossed, 
some part of humanity will be lifted, will it not?” 

They had spoken of whirlpools earlier in the 
talk and Mr. Kingsley reverted to it now. 

“Speaking of whirlpools„allow me to leave your 
last question an open one, while I ask you another. 
‘Why is it, that if some unfortunate bark is upset 
and the occupant lost, that people are full of com- 
miseration — ‘How sad ! What a dreadful pity !’ But 
if some girl is caught in a whirlpool of life and 
goes down, the popular verdict is: ‘She ought to 
have known better! I don’t pity her at all.’ Yet 
the first was driven by forces which are far easier 
controlled and avoided than those which lured on 
the latter. In the capsizing of the boat, the wind 
and waves were most difficult to contend with, 
but in the other, the force which weaves its fas- 
cinating spell about the unsuspecting is, in many 
instances, I believe, almost fierce in its dominance 
of the will, paralyzing all its strength for the time 
being.” 

“No, the world cannot, or will not, understand 


172 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


the one, while they are all compassion for the 
other,” Mrs. Gilbert replied. 

Mr. Kingsley continued : “They were gliding 
along so smoothly with the music of a guitar 
added to the rhelody of the human voice. It was 
moonlight and the scene was enchanting. They 
rested upon their oars, drifting heedlessly on, and 
ere they knew it, were hurried over the rapids. 
How awful! Yet the force that is beguiling the 
innocent toward the maelstrom of life, is far more 
dangerous.” 

“Yes, because more bewitching than music on 
moonlit water, is love’s pleading, more powerful 
than all the forces of earth, is the influence of will 
when combined with love’s thrilling touch.” 

“Then, too, Mrs. Gilbert, think of the weak will 
which is the legacy of many people. Nothing to 
sustain them in temptation’s hour.” 

“Yes, I often feel that I never dare draw my 
skirts aside with a ‘holier than thou’ feeling. I 
who have a strong will and no temptations along 
that line.” 

“But the world sees only the lack of outward 
conformance to its moral code and draws away in 
disdain.” 

Another thing, Mr. Kingsley. The more I study 
the social life to-day, I become convinced that 
half of the mistaken marriages are the result of 
heart hunger. You will pardon me for speak- 
ing plainly, but I feel as toward a son and claim 
the motherly right.” 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


173 


“And most gratefully I acknowledge the same,’' 
Mr. Kingsley answered, with true deference. 

“When a woman marries unworthily, finding 
nothing responsive or congenial to her nature, her 
heart hunger is handed down to her children ; but 
the sad part is that it seldom stops there. Her 
boy, thus endowed, feels an insatiable thirst for 
something, a restless, never quelled yearning, and 
proves an easy prey to the temptations of the wine 
cup. The daughter comes into life endowed with 
her mother’s finest feelings and unsatisfied desires. 
She is always groping after the unattainable, full 
of unrest. So unless her heart is answered by 
one whose temperament blends with hers, she 
passes on the unhappy influences by taking one who 
is absolutely unsuited and incapable of compre- 
hending or responding to her nature, so the woe 
is multiplied ad infinitum. It makes me tender 
for humanity, for we little know the influences 
that were about them from the moment life began. 
I believe that the heart loneliness of many a splen- 
did wife has been passed down the years and 
become intensified in her children, until it has led 
them to do many a deed they would not have 
thought of, but for the mad desire to stifle the 
unfathomable something within which is never at 
rest.” 

Mr. Kingsley was deeply interested. “You have 
given me light from a psychological standpoint 
that is worthy of consideration,” he gravely re- 
sponded. “Your theory may be the clue to the 
insanity problem as well as other evils. A rest- 


174 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


lessness allowed to dominate one’s reason could 
easily be driven into madness.” 

“Yes, and I believe there are just as many insane 
people outside the asylums as are confined within 
their precincts.” 

“Do you know, Mrs. Gilbert, I wish that every 
mother would talk with her sons as you have with 
me. They would be- much more cautious, and when 
caught in love’s blinding current, I believe many 
would escape the rapids and reach love’s pure 
haven. I bless you for what you have always been 
to me, and for these helpful thoughts to-night.” 

“There is one thing I would urge, and that is, 
a man of your nobility and stamp should not remain 
in single misery when there are so many more pure 
and lovable women adapted to make happy homes 
than there are men to sustain them. Think of 
the number of educated young women graduating 
each year from our higher institutions of learning 
and the few boys. What does it portend? That 
the educated womanhood of our country is reach- 
ing a higher plane and she must descend from her 
level or go unwed.” 

“You think, then, that college girls should only 
marry University men? I beg to differ with you. 
I know many fine men who never saw the inside 
of a University.” 

“You mistake my thought. I know that is very 
true. Many a noble man is the one behind the 
guns> and it is character we* must look for. At 
the same time, my thought holds good. Many boys 
are dropping out of school at the eighth grade 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


175 


and have no definite aim in life. They do not 
rise because they are content to remain mediocre, 
and while the girls are making more of themselves, 
does it not follow that there will be too little com- 
prehension of each other?” 

“Certainly; that is too authentic to be denied.” 

“But I am not through with you yet, my friend,” 
smiling at him with a suggestion of mischief in 
her eyes. “I could leave the work much more 
easily if you were not to be companionless.” 

“How can you think me that, when I often long 
for a moment’s solitude?” 

“You evade the question well, but it is still before 
the house, and I am not in favor of referring it 
back to a committee, for in that case it might be 
lost.” 

“Neither will we lay it on the table,” said Mr. 
Kingsley, “but face the issue if we must.” 

“Well, I have given my opinion and I hope 
soon to hear that you have acted upon it.” 

“But how am I to find the incomparable god- 
dess who will preside not only over the realm of 
this heart, but over this work?” 

“You are still fencing, I perceive. I am quite 
sure that if I told you to follow your inspiration 
it would not lead you far astray.” 

“But suppose I have none?” 

“Then wait until you do; but that is another 
side thrust.” 

Mr. Kingsley was silent for some moments. 
“Well, Mother Gilbert, suppose, since you are set 
upon your adopted son’s confession, that I have 


176 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


an inspiration, that there is one person in the world 
whom I could enthrone in my heart and give the 
homage of a lifetime. But suppose that insurmount- 
able difficulties lay in the way?” 

“I cannot suppose the last state to exist in this 
case. In the first place, whoever heard of a daunt- 
less man named Kingsley, cowering at the word 
'difficulties/ Why, you know that the very thought 
spurs you on.” 

"Yes, but a man may have courage to face a 
cannon, but fail to win in love’s battle.” 

"I really believe you are deficient in manly ego- 
tism. You are worthy of the best woman in the 
land, and I would not leave her so heart lonely 
that she will take one who is not the true answer 
to her need.” 

Mr. Kingsley looked his friend straight in the 
eyes. "Do you think there is real danger of that?” 

"It happens daily. Why should it not in this 
case ?” 

A pained look came over his face. Mrs. Gilbert 
divined it and answered hopefully : "I couldn’t go 
away until I gave you this little warning, but I 
believe if you do your part, all will be well.” 

"My part seems to be to stand and wait. I am 
tied here, while others are free to make calls and 
take moonlight rides. Besides, I have not wealth 
arid the position I offer is very insignificant in the 
eyes of the world compared to what another has 
to bestow.” 

"Yet your true manhood, without a cent added, 
outweighs by far all the money and social status 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


177 


of a certain individual whom we agree shall be 
nameless.” 

“Thank you, but he is a gifted, pleasing man, 
while I am empty handed.” 

“I tell you, dear boy, you are too modest regard- 
ing your own attainments. But I must bid you 
good-night. I hope to hear that you have followed 
my advice and put my fears for you at rest. You 
are wearing out your life in this work and need 
a counter attraction.” 

“Good-night. You have read my heart, though 
I did not think that I wore it upon my sleeve. I 
would not have it read by the crowd.” 

“On the contrary, you hide it so deeply that 
only those accustomed to the study of hearts would 
guess it.” 

“Thank you, again, Mrs. Gilbert. Your faith 
in me is an incentive to struggle on, but I feel 
that in love’s battle I am an unequal contestant.” 


Chapter XXIII. 


“I shall do it ; so there !” 

“Oh, but Thad, you must not. It isn’t good for 
little boys, and I don’t want you to.” 

“Mamma don’t care. She just laughed when I 
showed her this package,” holding up his cigarettes. 

“Yes, but I care, and I thought you loved sister.” 

Thad rushed out of the house without a word, 
but when he was out of sight he hurled away the 
box. 

Lora turned away with a heavy heart. She went 
into the library and established herself in one of the 
great leather chairs. Taking up a book she was soon 
oblivious of passing events. 

The room in which the fair girl sat, was fur- 
nished in a rich dark green. Paintings of roses 
formed the border, and were so natural it seemed 
the perfume floated down. A few choice master- 
pieces graced the walls, one especially that was 
Lora,’ favorite. A lonely lighthouse with the white- 
capped waves dashing high upon the rocky fortress, 
the dark green sea lashed to fury by the tempest, 
and through the night, a great stream of light 
touching the watery wilderness. Lora often sat 
entranced before this picture, and her mother called 
it one of Lora’s weird fancies. For her part, she 
178 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


179 


could not see how anyone would like that deso- 
late thing. It made her dismal just to glance at it. 

Into the greenery of this room Lora often escaped 
to rest. Is it not because green is the most restful 
color that the great Artist tinted leaves and grass 
with it in profusion? 

The room was ideal in its furnishings, as was 
every part of this beautiful home. Absolutely noth- 
ing seemed wanting which money and good taste 
could secure to perfect the appointments of the 
mansion. 

The dining-room opened by sliding glass doors 
into a beautifully kept conservatory of flowers, 
where an exquisite white marble statue of Cupid 
graced the center, while a fountain played musically 
and formed a miniature waterfall among the rocks 
and ferns. 

Lora’s own sanctum was a suite of three rooms, 
a dainty sitting room with its blue tintings, silken 
couch and white chairs, a beautiful bedroom, and 
beyond her dressing room. All were enough to 
make any art loving maiden in danger of breaking 
the commandment, “Thou shalt not covet any- 
thing that is thy neighbor’s,” for love’s lavish hand 
had procured all that could give pleasure and 
comfort to the only idolized daughter of the home. 

Mrs. Alexander’s apartments were on a more 
sumptuous style and formed a perfect setting for 
her beauty. 

Her husband had returned early and felt a 
hunger for his wife’s companionship. He tapped 
at her door. 


180 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“Come in,” said a voice of silvery sweetness. 
“Oh, it’s only you, Alex. I did not expect you 
home so early. Is there anything the matter?” 

“No; I have not seen you for so long I thought 
I would have a little visit.” 

“That’s so. I do not believe I have seen you 
for several days. But I have been so rushed and 
tired with two large parties, to say nothing of 
three afternoon receptions,, all in one week, I just 
could not get up in time to eat breakfast with you. 
And when I am going out for the evening you 
know I have my luncheon sent up here, or else 
I would have dined with you. Really, Alex, you 
men ought to be thankful that you are not obliged 
to go through the constant round of these things.” 

Mr. Alexander smiled. “But suppose you decline 
some invitations and give us a little more of your 
society, Marie. We miss you.” 

“That is nice. I am g'lad you do. But you see, 
Alex dear, — that is, if a man can comprehend these 
things — society is relentless. I wanted to decline 
half of these, but I dared not offend Mrs. Upton, 
who wanted me to help her receive. You know 
she is connected with royalty and it really was an 
honor. Then Mrs. Grandalee is going abroad next 
year and will be presented at court and I would 
like to send Lora with her ; so I must not offend 
her. And thus it was down the list. There were 
valid reasons for accepting all of them.” 

Mr. Alexander had looked surprised when she 
mentioned sending Lora abroad. The lines about 
his mouth tightened, but he said nothing. 


181 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 

Mrs. Alexander read him in some moods like 
an open book. She had long anticipated a struggle 
upon this point, and concluded it might be as 
opportune a time as any to continue the subject. 

“You know with Mrs. Grandalee, Lora would 
have every advantage for meeting the titled aris- 
tocracy. She is very fond of her and would advance 
her interests in every way.” 

It was evident that a storm was brewing from 
the stern look that came upon Mr. Alexander’s 
face, but he was still silent. So Marie felt she 
must go on or beat an ignominious retreat. 

H‘You see Mrs. Grandalee, has no daughter and 
she would find Lora a delightful traveling com- 
panion. Lora will be through school by that time 
and I think it may be one chance of a lifetime to 
meet the titled heads of Europe. Don’t you think 
so, Alex, dear?” she said coaxingly, seeing that 
he looked ominously grim. 

“Do you want my opinion?” 

“Why, certainly. I asked it.” 

“Well, you think it is a grand thing to have 
our child go in company with that shallow, artificial 
woman. That alone would settle it with me. You 
would send our only daughter over the ocean ‘to 
meet the titled aristocracy,’ to ‘advance her inter- 
ests.’ In plain English, you mean to marry her to 
some base old Count, or a rascal of a young Duke !” 

Mr. Alexander’s face grew fairly black with the 
thought. 

“There ! there ! Alex. How you do take on over 
nothing. You men jump at conclusions at the 


182 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


slightest provocation. I’m sure a man can never 
feel as a mother does over these things, and I said 
in the first place you could not understand.” 

“No, thank heaven, I am glad I cannot. When 
it comes to turning out a fresh rosebud of a girl 
into the shallowness and artificiality of the life at 
court. It will be hard enough for her here, mingling 
with the four hundred. They take the bloom off of 
almost any flower after a season or two. If I had 
my way she should never go out into such society 
unless under my own protection.” 

Marie seldom became riled. It was against her 
'policy to do ,so. Besides, it made wrinkles. But 
she felt indignant at the disparaging remarks about 
the society where she shone as a star of the first 
magnitude. 

“Alex, you sound exactly like a domestic tyrant. 
The very idea of your saying that you would never 
let Lora go without your protection ! Do you 
expect her to settle down for life with her parents ?” 

Mr. Alexander heaved a deep sigh. “No, I don’t 
expect her to always remain with us, but she is 
too pure a pearl to cast before swine, and that is 
what many mothers are doing who send their 
daughters abroad to marry some worthless fellow 
with a high sounding title. You can make your 
mind up to one thing, Mrs. Alexander. I shall 
never send my daughter abroad with that woman ! 
We will take her ourselves sometime, but she shall 
never go unprotected while I am here to guard 
her.” 

When Mr. Alexander put his foot down, Marie 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


183 


nqver combatted. She detested quarrels, so re- 
frained from adding fuel to the flames by changing 
the subject. 

“I had a letter from Ned to-day. He is having 
a fine time fishing. He was wanting money.” 

Mr. Alexander’s face did not lighten. “Money ! 
What does he want of money? I pay all his bills 
and supply him with plenty of cash. It’s those 
confounded cigarettes he wants it for, and I shall 
not send him another cent until time to come home. 
I tell you, Marie, you are ruining that boy, allowing 
him to stop school. Whoever heard of anything 
so absurd, a boy in his position !” 

“Well, it’s no use to make him go to school 
when he won’t study. For my part, it’s a relief 
to my mind to have him out of school, for the 
teachers found so much fault with him, poor dear ! 
It discouraged him.” 

Ned was Marie’s pet and she had indulged him 
to his ruin. 

“I tell you, Marie, if he stops school he will be 
worse yet, and end up as a loafer. Cigarettes are 
dulling his intellect to such an extent, he will be 
incapable of anything after awhile. If you would 
only use your influence against it, there would be 
some hope, but he is beyond my control now.” 

A beautiful chime of bells announced the dinner 
hour. 

Mr. Alexander gave Marie his arm and they 
passed down stairs together, a superb looking couple, 
but alas! Mr. Alexander would have exchanged 


184 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


all he possessed for a rose covered cottage and a 
loving wife to welcome him home. 

Married? No, no. Wedded? Never. The form 
only remained, the heart, the life of the holy bond 
had ceased. 

Envy not the glitter and equipage of wealth, 
husband and wife, if you have heart satisfaction, 
for you have riches greater than gems in ocean 
bed. Be content, for you have all the best of life. 

True love inhabits many an abode of wealth, 
but to deem that all of those surrounded by earthly 
honors are happy, is an erroneous view that obtains 
with many young people who would otherwise be 
content. 


Chapter XXIV. 


Mr. Alexander needed a trustworthy boy, and 
thinking that if a lad had pluck enough to attend 
night school after working all day, that there must 
be something in him, he sent in an application. 

The Professor looked over his glasses thought- 
fully a moment. “Marshall Allen is the chap.” 

“See here, Allen, is a good thing for you.” 

Marshall’s eyes beamed. “What do you suppose 
it is ?” His experience with city life had made him 
rightfully cautious. 

“It is an opportunity to get in with one of the 
leading bankers of the city.” 

The next day found Marshall at Mr. Alexander’s 
office and he felt his keen eyes read him through 
and through. 

“Your name and age, my boy?” 

Marshall informed him. 

“What salary are you receiving?” 

“Forty dollars per month and chance of pro- 
motion shortly.” 

“I will give you forty-five and you will please 
begin your duties to-morrow.” 

Marshall’s face lit up,, then he grew thoughtful. 

“But, Mr. Alexander, I am not sure that I can 
leave the firm so suddenly. They have entrusted 
me with some special work.” 

185 


186 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“But what does that matter to you?” said Mr. 
Alexander, sounding the boy’s motive and growing 
more pleased with him each moment. 

Marshall hesitated. He feared to lose this won- 
derful opportunity, yet he must be true to his 
trust. He drew himself up proudly. “I was trusted 
and I must not betray it.” 

“You are all right. Now please give notice that 
as soon as you finish that important business — Mr. 
Alexander’s eyes twinkled — with the firm, you are 
to report to me. How long will it be ?” 

“About a week, sir.” 

“All right. I shall depend upon you. Good-day.” 

Marshall’s head was fairly dizzy with excitement. 
Forty-five dollars per month! And to be in the 
employment of such a fine man as he felt Mr. 
Alexander to be. He almost ran back to the store, 
at once went to the office and gave notice of his 
departure at the end of the week. 

“What’s this?” asked Mr. White, sharply. 

Marshall related the story to him. 

“But we cannot spare you, my boy. I intended 
to promote you next month, but will do it now. 
I knew some other fellow would have his eyes upon 
you; but this won’t do. I cannot afford to do 
without you. I will give you forty-five and you 
stay.” 

“I am very sorry, Mr. White, but I cannot do it.” 

“Why not, I’d like to know?” said the gentle- 
man, becoming riled. 

“Because I promised to take the place and he 
said that he would depend upon me.” 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


18 7 


“You do well to adhere to your promises, and 
while it grieves me to part with you, I must not 
stand in the way of your advancement, for it will 
come if you continue to stick to principles.” 

Marshall went out of the office with hope singing 
in his heart, “Success is certain! Mother was right. 
It pays to be honest and peg away. I am not sorry 
I left those fellows who were bound to drag me 
down, and I am mighty thankful that I did not lower 
my standard and get rich too quickly by going in 
with those men. I wish boys knew when they reached 
such places that not to yield the first time is often 
their only safety. I believe if I had, I would have 
been so humiliated I could never have looked 
mother in the eyes again.” 

Mr. Alexander thought of Marshall several 
times on his homeward trip. “I am greatly attracted 
to that boy. He has the making of a man in him. 
I wish Ned was as promising, and as for little 
Thad, it is hard to tell how he will turn out. He 
is full of good impulses and has noble traits, but 
he needs careful training, and except for Lora 
where will he get it ?” 

Thad saw the carriage turning up the driveway 
and flew to meet it. 

“Hurrah, papa! I was just dying to see you, 
’cause Harry Maine has a gun, a really gun. Not 
that shoots rubber balls, but truly shoots ! His 
father brought it to him when he came home from 
his trip, and Harry made me mad. He said you 
wouldn’t get me one. I told him I knew better, 
and I saw you coming and I thought I’d tell you 


188 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


about it. When can I have it, papa ? It will be more 
splendid than his, won’t it ? Say ! his is a single 
blarrel breech loader, gauge number twelve. I 
found out all about it. So you get me a number 
thirteen and that will be a little better. When can 
I have it, papa?” 

Thad had poured forth this volley of talk as rap- 
idly as his glib little tongue could rattle it off. 
Such a roguish winning boy as he was. Every one 
found it hard to resist his appeals. 

Mr. Alexander . had long contested this point 
with his boy. Thad, the animated, balanced himself 
on the carriage step and performed some tumbles 
almost before he was out. 

“Papa, ’member about the gun, won’t you ? A — ” 

“Listen, Thad. I haven’t promised to get you 
the gun until you are older,” Mr. Alexander put 
his arm around the boy as they sat on the porch 
steps, “but we will talk it over. I might make a 
bargain with you. Do you know, Thad, I am going 
to depend upon you to grow up to be a good man 
and take my place in business?” 

Thad looked thoughtful. “Are you, really, 
papa ?” 

“Yes, and I want you to begin now to be a 
man, so after a while I can trust you not only with 
a gun, but with my business.” 

Thad had never been so much impressed before. 

“I’ll tell you what I’ll do. If you will promise to 
let cigarettes alone and be my little man that I 
can depend upon for a whole year, I will get you 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


189 


the finest gun ever made, or have one made ex- 
pressly for you that will beat Harry’s all to pieces.” 
' ‘Til do it, papa, but a year is an awful long 
time, isn’t it?” 



THAD 

“Yes, but when you get it you will be glad you 
waited.” 

“All right. That’s a go!” 

“Suppose we shake hands on that. Men of busi- 


190 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


ness often do and you are going to be my right 
hand man now.” 

“You bet I am! Here, papa. Shake both hands. 
When you need me just call upon me at any time 
and I will help you out.” 

Thad’s eyes shone. He threw his cap high in 
the air and caught it deftly. 

“All right, my boy, we are going into partner- 
ship.” 

“Say, papa. Couldn’t you let me begin right 
away to help you at the bank ?” 

“Of course, I’ll find something for you to do. 
Call around next Saturday and we’ll talk the mat- 
ter over.” 

“I’m your man. I’ll be there !” said the boy, 
feeling two inches taller. 

Mr. Alexander passed into the house feeling 
quite light hearted. “I believe I have struck the 
right chord for him.” The thought of Marshall 
Allen brightened him still more. 

5j£ * * * 

Two weeks passed and Marshall had already 
given his employer great satisfaction. 

Perhaps the thing that pleased Marshall the most 
was the fact that Mr. Alexander had given his 
young son into his care, and made him feel that 
he expected him to become an inspiration to the 
small boy. 

Marshall resolved to be worthy of the trust. His 
heart warmed toward the child, not only because 
of his attractiveness, but because of a small brother 
he had at home. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


191 


“Papa, Marshall is the nicest boy that ever lived ! 
I wish I could stay down at the bank with him all 
the time.” 

“But if you do not go to school you cannot be 
my partner, you know.” 

“That’s so. Say, papa, a year is a terrible time 
coming.” 

“Yes, but you will be so busy helping Marshall 
that it will pass before you know it.” 

“Papa, Lora is awful pleased because you and I 
are going into business, and because I don’t smoke 
cigarettes.” He climbed to father’s knee. “I never 
did like them, any way, but the boys all did it, so 
I tried to,” he rather sheepishly admitted. “Mar- 
shall never touches one. I saw a man offer him 
some and he said, ‘No, thank you, sir; I never 
smoke.” 

“I knew it !” exclaimed Mr. Alexander, much 
pleased. 

Mr. Alexander looked younger the last few few 
weeks. He had hopes of Thad, and that burden 
was rolling away. 

“Thad is doing splendidly, Lora, and we’ll be 
proud of him yet.” 

“I believe so, too, papa, and I have heard you 
and Thad praise the new boy so much, I have 
quite a desire to see him.” 

“He is a fine boy all right, and if only for the 
wholesome influence he has over Thad, I would 
not part with him for anything.” 

Mr. Alexander was feeling happy to-night. Lora 
rejoiced, although for herself she felt questioning 


192 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


and restless, but she would not let him know it, 
so she seated herself at the piano and played her 
gayest airs, and the man of many cares forgot 
them all and was for the time being happy. 

“Sing to me, Lora.” 

“What shall it be, papa?” 

‘Anything that suits you, dear.” 

She wanted something to still the inward rest- 
lessness and surprised her father by singing “The 
Holy City,” for it had fascinated her ever since 
Muriel had gone. 

Her father said nothing at the conclusion, but 
there was a moisture in his eyes. 

Lora turned around. “Shall I stop?” 

“No, no. Go on.” 

At the Robbins home one day she had heard 
the girls sing that sweet, restful song, “Just for 
To-day.” She had learned it and sang it now with 
true expression. 

“Lord, for tomorrow and its needs, I dare not pray, 
But keep me, guide me, love me, Lord, just for 
to-day.” 

As the sweet voice sang on, a picture of the noble 
speaker who had so charmed him arose again, and 
he heard the words : “If any man will open the 
the door, I will come in.” As he passed up stairs 
a little later to his room, he heard very clearly, 
“It is as easy as opening the door of your room. 
If any man will open the door, I will come in.” 
As he sank to rest, the words were the last that 
he remembered. 


Chapter XXV. 


Dorothy, the merry, was having a girlish chat 
with her friend Eldah, who admired her wit and 
brightness exceedingly; but to Eldah, to the world 
in general, and most of all to herself, did Dorothy 
seeni a puzzle. This complexity in her prevented 
the closest friendship. Possibly Eldah saw under 
the surface more than anyone else. Still she could 
not read her friend’s depths. 

“Dorothea, I wish I could understand you !” 

“It is mutual aspiration, my dear lady,” re- 
sponded the ever fluent girl, with a longing in her 
tone. 

Eldah, being intuitive, caught it. “Why, Dorothy, 
1 did not supposed you ever cared. I thought you 
just delighted in being an enigma and sufficient 
unto yourself.” 

Dorothy, with the contrariness of her nature, 
showed exactly the opposite trait from what she de- 
sired. In reality she yearned for comprehension 
on the part of her friends. Still, with what seemed 
a fatal perversity, when she might have had it, she 
thwarted all by lapsing outwardly into proud indif- 
ference, saying: “I am self-sufficient!” Although 
at that very moment she longed with all the inten- 
sity of her life to have Eldah look behind the 
193 


194 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


laughing light in her eyes and know that she had 
depths that matched Eldah’s own. 

“Well, I sometimes envy you your strength and 
sufficiency, Dorothea.” She looked admiringly at 
the queenly girl before her. 

“You need not. It is often a farce.” 

“Then you play the part admirably.” 

Dorothy’s eyelids drooped and veiled her expres- 
sive face, while she adroitly changed the subject, 
although in her inmost heart she wished Eldah 
would continue it, so strange a compound was this 
English Rose. 

“Well, I am on the extreme precipice of dan- 
ger, Eldahrema, and unless you rescue me, my 
curiosity will be the extermination of the worthy 
editor of the Newtonian Star, and, alas, none but 
yourself can be held responsible, and who, I repeat 
it, who will fill the vacancy made by the untimely 
demise of yours truly? Alas! Who will thrill, awe, 
and stir with burning eloquence the unsophisticated 
freshmen and — ” 

“O Dorothy ! Spare me any more such flights, 
for I really want to have a serious talk with you 
about little Marion.” 

“Another slumite protege of yours? I beg to 
be excused. My fort does not lie with the sub- 
merged tenth. Instead, I must sharpen the intel- 
lects of the—” 

“O Dorothy! You are irrepressible. Will you not 
be good just five minutes and give me the benefit 
of your intellectual vigor?” 

“It is thine gratuitously, fair maiden. I would 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


195 


scorn not to fly to your assistance at any time, be 
it in Slumdom or where the waves ‘break! break! 
break ! on thy cold gray stones, O sea !’ ” 

“But how can I sober you sufficiently and get 
you silent long enough to impart the story?” 

“Proceed ! I promise the most filial obedience for 
two minutes, which is the extreme limit of my 
powers of endurance.” Dorothy put on her most 
demure look, as she meekly folded her hands upon 
her breast. 

Eldah told little Marion’s story, and what she 
knew of Hattie’s history. 

Dorothy’s face betrayed keen interest, and one 
gifted with insight would have read how deeply 
it touched the large-hearted girl. Still, with the 
strange inconsistency of her make-up, she expressed 
not a word. Some one has said : “When the well 
is deep there is nothing to draw with.” 

Eldah felt her unspoken interest, but wished she 
would voice it. 

“Well, what is your opinion?” she questioned, 
at last. 

“Pshaw !” exclaimed Miss Dorothy, tossing her 
head on purpose to hide the moisture that sprang 
to her eyes, “I cannot worry myself into wrinkles 
over other people’s troubles. For my part, I mean 
to have a good time.” 

“Dorothy Dix ! Turn around here and look me 
in the eyes! You do care and you do not mean 
a word of that heartless speech.” 

Dorothea stood erect and smiling as she replied: 
“Now, I like that! Pm glad to have somebody give 


196 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


one the benefit of the doubt and not to think I 
am always so heartless as I sound; ” 

“I know you better than that,” Eldah responded ; 
“but tell me what shall we do for Marion?” Well 
knowing that if she could enlist the brilliant girl 
before her, the rest would follow. 

Dorothy was not drawn to settlement work and 
wondered how Eldah could devote so much time 
to it. Still she had a very warm heart, although 
she hid it so often as to sometimes be thought quite 
the reverse. She was very fond of children, to 
whom alone she was lavish in her expressions of 
devotion. So much so, that some of her friends, 
as well as admirers of the opposite sex, often wished 
they might win such smiles as she bestowed upon 
the little ones. 

“What shall we do with Marion?” Dorothea re- 
peated, looking thoughtful. “I think your plan 
feasible. It quite appeals to my reason, and it is my 
candid judgment — that if we can win Myrtelius, the 
rest will come. Suppose we emigrate and discuss 
the problem with her ere the afternoon meet- 
ing of the Delta’s.” 

“Agreed !” 

A few minutes brisk walk brought them to the 
Ladies’ Hall, where Myrtelius was domiciled. As 
we have but mentioned her, an introduction may 
be pleasing. She was regarded as one of the strong- 
est characters in school, not only morally, but intel- 
lectually, she was very forceful, and her high rank 
in scholarship had secured the respect of pupils 
and teachers. For the last two years she had acted 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


197 


as tutor while carrying her own heavy studies, thus 
proving a very capable and dependable girl. 

The three were friends, although so totally di- 
verse. The students had dubbed them “The Trip- 
lets/’ which can be appreciated only upon further 
acquaintance. 

Myrtelius, the studious, whose bright eyes and 
good forehead revealed her intellectual vigor, was 
about medium height and weight. Eldah, of a 
slender, delicate build, while Dorothea, of command- 
ing height and fine physique, was a decided con- 
trast. Totally unlike in their natures, still there 
was a sympathetic bond and stronger link than 
mere Delta affinity. 

Myrtelius was deep into chemistry and did not 
relish the intrusion, for she had absolutely no incli- 
nation for charity work; but it was a rule of her 
life never to fail a friend. So when the three sep- 
arated it was with the tacit understanding to win 
over the rest. 

“Myrtelius is never enthused over such work, 
but she will stand by us.” 

“What do you say to bringing our Marion home 
with you and let us see her,” suggested Dorothea, 
who was already impatient to behold the child 

“Certainly. She will win the girls. I will bring 
her out to our next meeting.” 

Eldah’s pretty home was approached through 
very beautiful grounds. Stately firs and ancient 
oaks were profuse. At the rear of the dwelling 
a large tent graced the lawn, where all through the 
summer the family enjoyed outdoor life. The per- 


198 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


feet arching of the trees making a fine canopy, 
under which was placed a table and rustic chairs, 
while four comfortable hammocks beckoned invit- 
ingly. 

In this delightful retreat, hidden from the public 
by foliage, the Delta meetings frequently convened. 

To-day, as usual, a very spirited time ensued. 

“Horrors !” exclaimed a fastidious maiden. “El- 
dah Homesworth, you’ve reached the limit. Adopt 
a slum child indeed !” 

“Who ever heard of so wild a scheme?” com- 
mented others. 

Nevertheless, after an animated discussion, Eldah 
carried her point, seconded by Dorothea and sus- 
tained firmly by Myrtelius. 

After other business was disposed of, a lively 
social time followed, during which Eldah came in 
for her share of teasing. 

“I see ! I see !” exclaimed Geraldine. “How could 
we expect anything else, after those morning ram- 
bles out at camp. We might have anticipated the 
outcome.” 

“Does it just dawn upon thy darkened vision, 
mine friends? Why, I prophesy this is but the 
beginning of our woes, and that ere we are aware, 
Eldah will plump down a whole orphan asylum on 
our hands,” said Dorothy, unable longer to resist 
joining in the fun. 

“If you do, Eldahrema, I will wash my hands 
of the whole afifair,” added Myrtelius. 

“Girls, let us vote to stand by Mr. Richmond and 
do all in our power to promote his interests, or I 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


199 


am morally sure our charming president will yet 
have us confirmed settlement workers, or deacon- 
esses. Then think of the blighting of all our mat- 
rimonial prospects/’ said Geraldine. 

“Girls, if you do not behave I shall resign the 
presidency on the spot.” 

Eldah cast a reproachful glance at Dorothea, who 
instantly silenced the girls by a look of reproof. 
The meeting closed after singing merrily, “Posesi- 
don and the Pine Tree,” and the Delta, Delta, 
Delta, had become the first to go upon record as 
interested in philanthropic measures. 

Eldah maintained a dignified silence when left 
alone with Myrtelius. 

“When are we going to take charge of our 
ward?” asked Myrtelius, with an assumed interest. 

“Whenever circumstances demand it.” 

Myrtelius hurried away to her intellectual duties, 
thinking: “I wonder which it will be? I certainly 
hope Mr. Richmond, for she is too fine a girl to 
waste her life on such poor white trash as are down 
in the slums.” 


Chapter XXVI. 


Eldah’s father and mother had long held pro- 
fessorships in the college of their native town, 
— which was one of the most beautiful suburbs of a 
large eastern city — and were in every sense people 
of culture. 

It was but natural that they desired their only 
daughter to grace a beautiful home of her own, 
therefore, as Mr. Richmond became more attentive, 
they encouraged what seemed to them a most ad- 
vantageous marriage. 

Eldah was deeply interested in Settlement work 
and found it more fascinating than ever. The talks 
with Mr. Kingsley were becoming more frequent 
and they found it necessary to consult together, not 
only regarding the Delta ward, but many other 
topics. 

Eldah always found these talks a tonic. Still, 
Mr. Richmond was obtaining an influence over her, 
and unconsciously she was coming more under his 
spell. 

She did not stop to analyze her feelings, but was 
beginning to feel the power of his admiration, and 
it made her, for the time being, happy. She would 
not have been a woman, and remained insensible 
to the pleasure of having so handsome and gallant 
a gentleman ready to anticipate her slightest wish. 

200 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


201 


She knew that many envied her, and that of itself 
deepened the fascination. Yet little did she heed 
how she was drifting out upon a treacherous sea. 

Mr. Richmond had refrained with hero-like com- 
posure from uttering the words which might end 
all those pleasant talks and drives; but coming in 
one evening and finding Eldah alone, looking the 
embodiment of winsome womanhood, in her sim- 
ple white dress, he felt an irresistible impulse, he 
could curb himself no longer, and ere he fully real- 
ized it, the fateful and perhaps fatal words were 
uttered beyond recall. 

Never had Eldah been so restless as during the 
last few days. She had not known what ailed her, 
but something had disquieted her to the point of 
positive unhappiness. 

She was dazed as she listened to the ardent 
avowal. It sounded like a fairy tale. Could it be 
such happines was for her ? What more could 
woman desire ? She felt a new warmth stealing- 
over her, the magnetism of his great love was 
beginning to hold her spellbound. Sudenly she 
became conscious that her heart had been hungry 
and cold, for now, standing under the light of 
such love, she felt for the moment warmed and fed. 

It enveloped her, the wonderful love light that 
came from his eloquent eyes. Why should she re- 
sist it? Who would? 

They walked out to the rustic seat under the 
trees. 

A moment throbbing with sweet peril ! Will 
Eldah, our deep, earnest souled girl, take the fatal 


202 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


step that will lead her from higher thing's? Will 
she be content without a depth that calleth unto 
her own depth of character? 

Eldah is heart-tired to-night and face to face 
for the first time with such a crisis. A sense of 
protection — so dear to womanhood — comes over 
her, and it all seems a witching tale. 

“Why not?” she asked herself. But with strong 
common sense said: “I must have time to consider 
so weighty a matter, Mr. Richmond, for some one 
has well said ‘that colors seen by candlelight, do 
not look the same by day.’ ” 

But feeling his only hope might be in present 
decision, and knowing that he possessed unusual 
power over her to-night, he resolved to urge the 
question to a final issue. 

Never had he looked so handsome. Nature, too, 
wore a subdued and softened air, and as he painted 
glowingly their wedding trip to the Old World, 
talked of their gliding down the far famed Rhine on 
moonlight nights like the present, who — especially 
one who loved study and culture as Eldah — would 
not have found the prospect alluring? 

The old, old story, always full of beauty and 
power, the spell of it, can she . resist ? 

Yes, she is strong enough, but does not realize 
her danger and knows not she is capable of deeper 
joy than she is experiencing. 

Eldah had lived a strong, pure life and given 
little thought to the sentimental side. She had 
found much strength and happiness in her friend- 
ship with Mr. Kingsley, but had always put down 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


203 


girlish dreams concerning the opposite sex, reso- 
lutely maintaining that she would not allow herself 
to care deeply for any man until she knew he cared 
for her. She knew Mr. Kingsley valued her highly, 
and it made her strangely, deeply happy ; but 
theirs was only an exalted friendship. If it had 
been more, he would have told her so in their 
frequent talks. 

Eldah loved Emerson’s thought: “My life is not 
an apology, but a life. I wish to make it sound 
and sweet, — it shall be an alms, a battle, a con- 
quest, a medicine.” Thus she had put sentiment 
aside. 

But now she is face to face with a man who is 
ardently in lpve with her, and for the time being 
it seems sufficient to satisfy. Why should it not 
prove enough always? 

Is this gifted girl an isolated factor, or are 
there not many Eldahs, who, under love’s eloquent 
pleading — and in moments of longing for their 
real soul twin — take a lesser gift, when a greater 
may be reserved for them? 

“So you would have us all remain on the stem 
until we are withered roses !” methinks a blooming 
girl exclaims. 

Not so, sweet flower; but in the name of all 
that is holy, be as sure as it is possible to be, that 
the depths of your nature are satisfied, or “fear to 
call loving.” 

“Deep calleth unto deep” in friendship. How 
much more in this most exalted of all human rela- 
tionships. 


204 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


The hours had flown on wings, the parting time 
had come. Eldah walked into the house slowly, 
with a very sober expression. When in her room 
she went to the window and watched her lover 
going down the walk. 

Was her heart throbbing with a new and almost 
unsupportable joy? 

No, but she was happy. It was like a beautiful 
dream, this wonderful rose tinted future that was 
to be hers. 

All night she dreamed of wandering under the 
blue skies of Italy and haunting the art studios 
of Rome. Some way the thought of these seemed 
to supercede her lover. Still he was present to her 
thought, smiling and handsome. 

She felt the delight of her parents and friends. 
Yes, it must be the right thing! How could it be 
otherwise ? 

Thus it has been, and will be, until time shall 
be no more. 

Why paint such disappointing scenes upon life’s 
canvas? Because in a study in life tints, the true 
artist gives not only the high lights, and some souls 
standing upon the perilous threshold, may be led 
to pause, ere they make the fatal mistake. 

In a few weeks the secret was out, and a superb 
flash of light radiated with every movement of 
Eldah’s hand. 

If the shining ones who guard us weep over the 
mistakes of poor earth-blinded humanity, certainly 
one involving so much, must cause them deepest 
sorrow. 


Chapter XXVII. 


One of the most fascinating things in life is 
its constant shifting of scenes. 

A perfect storm of events that seems ready to 
submerge and overturn our entire existence is sud- 
denly quelled, the waves recede, and some unex- 
pected good comes in view, often ere our eyes are 
cleared from tears to behold the vision. 

Life is linked to life in one mysterious network 
of threads. They break off and the ends seem hope- 
lessly lost, but at an opportune moment they are 
united, and who shall dare question that it is accom- 
plished by a Divinity who shapes our ends? 

Many years ago two girl cousins traveled the 
same path through the woods to the little red 
school house, studied out of the same book and 
were inseparable companions. 

Strong fetters are those formed in early child- 
hood, and while dearer friendships may supercede, 
there is ever a tenderness and heart turning toward 
those who were with us in the dawn of life, ere 
our feet have traveled far, and in the din and tur- 
moil of earth, lost the glory that hovers about child- 
hood. 

Nelle was much surprised one evening to find 
a caller awaiting her in the reception room. 

A tall lady with dark eyes greeted her cordially. 

205 


206 A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 

No one could distrust the kind face, and her 
warm hand clasp told Nelle more than words could 
have done, that she had found a friend. 

A brief talk brought out the joyful news that 
she was a long lost and much beloved cousin of 
Nelle’s mother. 

With delight Nelle listened to reminiscences of 
of her mother’s girlhood days, and was overjoyed 
to find that her new friend had been to her em- 
ployer, secured a two weeks’ leave of absence and 
intended to take her to the country. 

She embraced her friend with all the ardor of a 
child, and in two days was far away from the smoke 
and noise of the city, wading knee deep in flowers, 
rivaling the birds with outbursts of song, and so 
care free and happy, that all the lonely years of life 
were forgotten. 

Her cousin rejoiced to see the change in one 
short week. 

“Why, Nelle!” exclaimed her boy cousin, as he 
came in and heard her singing merrily over the 
dishes, “I wouldn’t have guessed this was the girl 
I met at the station a week ago.” 

“It is just like steam escaping. It makes a tre- 
mendous noise when it has been pent up a long 
time, and I feel as free as the birds out here, and 
just running over with happiness!” 

Nelle gave the motherly woman in the doorway 
an old-fashioned hug, which was as warmly re- 
turned. 

“If only Elsie could be here, my joy would be 
complete.” 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


207 


“We will see what can be done for Elsie after 
a little, but now I want you to get strong and rosy. 
Go with Max and help him pick up apples, when 
you finish the dishes.” 

“The birdies warble blithely, for my Father 
made them so,” trilled out Nelle. “He is my 
Father, too, for He rescued me from loneliness 
and brought me out here. Why, if I had died 
and gone to heaven, it couldn’t have seemed more 
like paradise.” 

“What are you thinking of, Cousin Nelle?” 
asked the boy at her side, noting her sudden silence. 

“I was thinking that God made , the country, and 
man the town, and I wish I could always stay out 
here with God.” 

She said it earnestly, for Nelle’s experiences had 
made a deep impression upon her. 

“I am sure we never want you to go,” said Max, 
who had hungered all his life for a sister. 

“Max, you seem just like a brother to me. I 
like you best of any boy I know,” she said frankly. 

“I’m not anything to brag on,” honest Max re- 
sponded, “but really, Cousin Nelle, the girls and 
fellows around here tire me awfully.” 

“I supposed that everyone in the country was 
good like you and auntie.” She had changed the 
cousin into a closer relation. She said it was not 
near enough. 

“Oh, there are plenty of good people and nice 
young folks, but I haven’t found anyone like a 
sister before.” 

“You wouldn’t expect it,” Nelle said innocently. 


208 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“You see, we are really blood relatives. Isn’t that 
splendid? O, it feels so good to belong to some 
nice people.” 

“Nelle, you are the most appreciative girl I 
know.” 

“When the girls at the store used to tell of their 
aunts and cousins, I wished I had just one relative, 
and now I have two!” 

Max climbed the tree and began to pelt her with 



NELLE AND MAX 



A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS . 


209 


apples. A merry hour they spent working and play- 
ing, and when auntie came out a little later she 
found bags and baskets filled, and two jolly looking 
people sitting on the fence, eating apples and count- 
ing seeds.. 

‘'Here is a letter for you, Nelle, and we will leave 
her to enjoy it in solitude, Max. I always like 
to be alone with my letters.” 

They had not gone far when a light step over- 
took them. 

“O Auntie Wymen ! Just listen to what Elsie 
says. The most splendid thing has happened her, 
too. Just three days ago after I came here, when 
Elsie was in the depths of loneliness, a pretty 
young married woman called at the home and 
asked to see her. She wanted some one to be with 
the children, and, come to find out, she is the 
daughter of Mrs. Worthington, (whom I told you 
of), who will always seem like an angel of 
light to Elsie. The daughter’s name is Mrs. True- 
man, and she has three of the dearest little girls. 
Just hear what Elsie says: T never was in such 
a home, and if I had been told that such existed, 
I should have doubted it.” 

It isn’t grand, just pretty, and a real home. 
Why, they are so polite and nice to one another, 
it’s like company all the time. I never shall feel 
lonely again with such people for my friends. 

Mrs. Trueman knows that I worship her mother 
— for I always shall — Nelle, God sent her, and I 
could kiss the hem of her garment. So I am more 
than glad to do anything I can for her daughter. 


210 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


There’s not many fine men like Mr. Trueman. His 
name just fits, and I could write a whole letter 
about each of the children. They are the dearest 
and worst little rascals ever lived. They go to 
Sunday school and come home and act out the 
lesson. You know last week it was about Joseph 
and his coat of many colors. Gladys’ remarks 
explaining it all to baby Eleanor, were too funny. 
‘So you will understand it, Eleanor, we will show 
you just how they did it.’ I was in the next room 
sewing, so I just kept still to see what they would 
do. ‘Now, you are Joseph, because you are the 
littlest. We are your wicked brothers — just wait 
a minute.’ Gladys darted up to the attic and down 
again. I heard a queer noise. ‘Tear ofif some more 
cloth, Vera, it isn’t long enough.’ I went in to 
investigate just as the two were lowering Joseph 
into the pit, that is, down the shaft for the dumb 
waiter. ‘Don’t be afraid, little Joseph,’ Vera ex- 
claimed. ‘We won’t let you fall.’ I reached them 
in time to rescue Joseph as he way half way down 
to the pit, and that blessed baby wasn’t crying 
a bit, such was her faith in her wicked brothers. 

“Why, children ! Don’t you know you might 
drop the baby and hurt her dreadfully?’ I said, 
as I pulled Joseph up. 

‘No, indeed! Miss Elsie. We ain’t the dropping 
kind, for, you see, we love our little Joseph, and 
they hated theirs,” Vera explained. ‘Yes, but you 
might be pulled over yourselves and get badly hurt,’ 
I answered. ‘O no ! God wouldn’t let us. He ’tends 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


211 


to us all the time,’ Gladys remarked. ‘Don’t He, 
Vera?’ 

‘Well, yes, when He isn’t busy about other things. 
He has a terrible lot of business to see to. I ’spose 
He might be called out.’ 

‘No, He mightn’t,’ Gladys replied, opening her 
big blue eyes very wide and looking like a cherub. 
‘You see, God always ’tends to the children any- 
way. The Bible says so.’ 

“That’s just a sample of the way those young- 
sters perform all the time; but they are such a 
mixture of fun, naughtiness, and goodness, that you 
love them in spite of everything. If you are as 
happy as I am, I shall be thankful.” 

‘God gives at last !’ 

There had seemed no turn in the road these 
lovable young girls had to travel. Just an unceasing 
grind. But when they least expected it, the path 
curved, and led them into healthful, happy, atmos- 
pheres. 

‘God, gives at last ! f 

Art thou in the shadows or monotony of life? 

Above thy irksome task an angel sings. Listen ! 
The refrain is soft and sweet, but very clear : 
“ God gives at last! ‘ And they shall never be 
ashamed who wait for me.’ ” 


Chapter XXVIII. 


‘‘Out yonder upon the heights is a blue veil of 
mist. It is clearing here, but the haze lingers over 
the foothills. Just so our eyes are blinded by 
earth mists, that we see truth but dimly. Reality ! 
reality ! Let me know and grasp its meaning. Which 
is worth while, to make a living or to make a 
life?” 

Eldahrema was standing before her window 
soliloquizing thus. She pondered the last ques- 
tion deeply, and then continued : “Those heights 
are everlastingly green. They make me think of the 
evergreen mountains of life, ‘God’s heights of 
power,’ I call them. They seem beckoning me on 
to higher things, and the old question that has 
throbbed within my being so much of late, stirs 
again. Which is best, to make a living — that is, 
accept of a high position that ensures sumptuous 
living every day — or day by day to build a life?” 

“A life, a life,” deep within a voice seems to say. 

Eldah turned sadly away. “God’s world and 
I am in it, a part of His wonderful plan. If I am 
not heroic in my part, some other life will find it 
harder to be noble. I must be brave and stand in 
my place or some other will be thrown down by 
my lack of fortitude. Knowing that, I see no way 
but to go through my part up to my best light. 

212 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


213 


Over behind the hills the sun is setting. Yet all 
we get of it is a line of light gilding the top. Not 
much, but a hint of glory. So all any soul can get 
from me, is a suggestion of what is possible for 
a life that looks upward for guidance.” 

Stern resolve was written upon Eldah’s face as 
she said: “I will not play at living, but fulfill my 
part in the great drama of life.” 

As she turned from the window, a ray of light 
touched the beautiful gem upon her hand and it 
flashed out a bewildering radiance of beauty. It 
was fascinating to watch the play of light and 
shade, but a pained look shadowed her thoughtful 
brow. 

Something strangely disquieted her. She put her 
hands behind her as if to shut out the witching spell 
of the ring. 

Just then the bell rang and a moment later 
Dorothea entered. 

Eldah hailed her with more warmth than usual, 
although she was always fond of the bright girl’s 
company. Now she seemed glad to escape from 
herself. 

“Dorothy, you are an antidote to every kind of 
downheartedness; but don’t you ever go down in 
the valley?” 

The young lady stood before her radiant with 
good health and superabundant spirits. 

“Eldah, I thought you were endowed with more 
penetration than the average.” 

“Well, you always look so blooming and appear 


214 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


overflowing with brightness, that we think you 
must feel superb.” 

A wistfulness crept into Dorothea’s eyes, but she 
instantly covered it up with a merry look, as she 
exclaimed : “Me ! have the dumps ? I am not built 
upon that plan. ‘Laugh and the world laughs with 
you.’ That’s the principle I go on. I’ll never wear 
my heart in sight and have the world in general 
commiserating me. I cannot bear pity. When I 
weep, I prefer to ‘weep alone,’ even if the poet 
did object. I do not want people trotting around 
me with handkerchiefs held to their eyes when I 
feel badly. If I had anything that demanded whole- 
sale weeping, I would invite all my friends to come 
and bring their towels and we would make a reg- 
ular time of it. Pity makes me furious. I act 
hateful then, and wouldn’t tell a soul how I felt, 
especially if they preface their remarks with : ‘Poor 
child !’ in a sort of dying away tone.” 

Eldah smiled, but she looked right down through 
the laughing eyes before her. “But you like genu- 
ine sympathy and you need not deny it.” 

The lively girl gave an appreciative glance, then 
subsided into her old indifference. 

How near are souls often, when a word would 
bring them into helpful converse. Each girl was 
fighting her own battle, little dreaming of the oth- 
er’s struggles, yet feeling a desire for closer com- 
prehension. 

“You always do me good, Dorothy, and I think 
you are a — ” 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


215 


“Benediction to mankind !” finished the lively 
maiden. 

“Yes, you are. We need just wholesale — ” 

“Wholesale chatterboxes !” added Dorothy. 

“Dorothea Madeline Maddox, you do not deserve 
any compliments. You stop me right in the middle, 
and act as if it were a matter of supreme indiffer- 
ence to your Royal Highness ; but all the same 
you like it, and I am going to keep right on telling 
you what I feel.” 

“Approach cautiously the sacred realm of my 
cranium, Eldahrema, lest you stir the dormant seeds 
of vanity till they grow to lusty plants.” 

Dorothy had heard of Eldah’s engagement with 
positive distress. 

She could not congratulate her, for she did not 
believe Eldah was happy, although all the girls had 
greeted her opinion with scorn. “Not happy with 
handsome Mr. Richmond!” “Going abroad for her 
wedding trip.” “Everything a girl could want her 
whole life !” they had exclaimed. 

Eldah had accepted the congratulations of all 
the rest with becoming dignity. She was not sur- 
prised at Dorothy’s silence, for she never did things 
in the conventional way. The unexpectedness of 
her nature — its very caprices — was one of her great- 
est charms. 

Dorothy began in a somewhat circuitous way to 
lead up to the subjct. 

“I do not believe in love,” Eldah. 

“There is another thing that is. inconsistent with 


216 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


your make up. You are admirably fitted for it and 
I hope some time you will — ” 

“O pardon me ! but I cannot endure the mental 
picture. Fact is, I do not believe in it. It is all 
a farce. There is nothing higher than friendship.” 

A wave of color flushed Eldah’s face, and her 
eyes shone. “All a farce. Nothing higher than 
friendship! Why, love is life, the whole best of 
life. You are entirely uninitiated yet, dear girl, or 
you would never make such erroneous statements.” 

“I am prepared to support them,” replied Dor- 
othy, looking resolute and grim. 

“Your funny mixture, Dorothy Dix!” 

“I know it. I’m a riddle that I cannot solve, but 
you do not believe in love, Eldah.” 

“I do not believe in the holiest thing on earth ? 
You know me better, surely.” 

“No, candidly, I do not think you really believe 
in it.” 

“Why?” was on Eldah’s lips, but she half caught 
her friend’s meaning and checked herself in time. 

Dorothea began to put on her gloves. “I do not 
think you would go against your deepest woman’s 
feelings, so I am convinced that you do not believe 
in love.” 

This serious thrust from the merriest one of all 
their set. 

Eldah’s face clouded as her friend passed out. 
It had been but a momentary brightness. Now she 
felt the shadows deepening within her, as well as 
in the room. 

“She did not congratulate me. She repulsed me. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


21 / 


This from Dorothea. But I must hurry and dress, 
for Mr. Richmond is coming to dinner. ‘Believe 
in love !’ Of course I do!” Eldah determinedly mur- 
mured, as if to silence a voice within, a voice that 
questioned her too closely. At last it gained her 
attention. “If you believed in love, would you marry 
Mr. Richmond ?” 

Eldah put her hands over her ears. “Be gone!” 
she commanded, for it seemed sacrilege to listen to 
such thoughts. “I love my promised husband. Of 
course I do!” she maintained. 

With which she dismissed the subject, and soon 
forgot her restlessness, likewise her high thoughts, 
in the pleasant home circle below. 

Full of peril are moments like these, when we 
turn away from our guiding monitor and close our 
ears to its warning voice. Well for us that it does 
not cease until many times it has plead with 11s to 
follow its leadings. 


Chapter XXIX. 


Thad was developing in many ways that pleased 
those who loved him best. 

His letter to his brother will afford a glimpse of 
the little fellow’s aspirations. 

“Dear Ned : 

“i sung Pull for the shor last nite when I wuz 
going too bed, Lora sed, Wut u singin that fore? 
And i ced — too keep mi kurage up. 

“Due you want tu no wy? Pa ced it won’t bee 
a year for a long time yet, an I kant have mi gun 
til a year, Lora ced wite to Ned, and make him laff. 
i can speal good cant i? Sum words kum easy and 
sum kum hard, Sum fall rite on the paper, Lora 
tole me how to speal a few, i rite bekaus u must 
feel bad to be gone so long. — Lora is spealing 
sum words now, but she sez she kan’t speal every 
one, I must think fur mi self, i am thinkin hard, 
but they get stuk in mi hed an kant get out, Lora 
ced yu will like it enyhow. Ma wants u to kum 
home. I am workin with Marshall Allen every 
day after skill, i earned 1 dolor last week, an if i 
am spaired mi health, pa sez, and if i kin keep my 
kurage up, to work rite along — he thinks I’ll get 
the gun, Pa sez he kneads me to help him, i 
don’t smoke cigarettes eny more beekaus they’re 
218 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


219 


bad. Wy due you? Marshall don’t at all, he and 
i don’t scrap like you and i du. Ma sez, Dear boy, *■ 
bless his hart, hear is a kiss for him, Lora sez be 
a good boy, i say the same. Lora is tired spelling 
so much, sew i will have to stop, Wen I get the 
gun, i won’t shoot birds. Marshall don’t like too 
shoot birds. Lora sez this letter was more than 
she bargained for, that u best enjoy it, for she had 
a hard time, then she laffed, Lora is an angle, 
i kant think of eny more to say and Lora says she 
is tired spealing. i am going to be a show-man 
wen i get big, Lora sed hadn’t i best go out and 
see if the cook hasn’t a piece of cake for me? 
but i like to wite , will tell u the rest whean i am 
not so busy at the bank, an if i am spaired mi helth 
as pa sez, 

“Good by Ned— 

“From youre brother Thad Alexander.” 

Lora folded up the small boy’s letter as he 
bounded out of the room. “I just believe Thad is 
going to be our pride and joy yet, mother.” 

Mrs. Alexander smiled indulgently, as she looked 
up for a moment from her novel. “Do you think 
so? He is so different from Neddie, I fear he will 
never make half the man.” 

Lora’s eyes flashed, but she was too respectful to 
say anything. 

After a time, Lora wearied of the fancy work 
she was making. “Mamma, I wish I could do some 
real work in the world. I get tired of pretty 
nothings.” 


220 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 



Mrs. Alexander laid down the book and looked 
in blank astonishment, at her daughter. 


LORA 


“Lora, you are the strangest girl I ever saw I 
What do you want to do real work for? The idea 
is perfectly absurd, and likewise perfectly charac- 
teristic. You are the only girl in our circle, I 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


221 


venture to say, who has such foolish whims. Work 
indeed ! Be thankful that you were not born upon 
that low plane of life.” 

“But, mamma, why do you think work so degrad- 
ing? I think a useful life would be happiness.” 

Mrs. Alexander was utterly incapable of compre- 
hending this lofty aspiration. 

Lora turned sadly away. She sought comfort in 
the conservatory, and bending over some rare and 
tender blossoms, touched them as if they were 
human. As she leaned over them, into their waxen 
cups fell a tear, the life dew of her sweet, pure life. 

The flowers in their fineness were kindred to her 
delicately constructed nature, and they seemed to 
give her courage, for she brushed away the tears 
as she mastered the feeling that swayed her. “Well, 
I will do my best for papa and Thad, and perhaps 
that will be real work. I believe Mrs. Robbins 
would say so.” 

With that cheering thought she flew to her 
beloved piano. 

Mr. Alexander had come in unobserved, and if 
Lora could have seen the way his face brightened 
at sight of her, she would not have felt her life 
useless. 

“O papa! when did you come? I’ve something 
to talk to you about. I want to do something in 
the world.” 

“Play Lady Bountiful, or become a tract dis- 
tributer?” 

“Well, I want to be of some use in the world 
somewhere.” 


222 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“Yes, Lora, I understand. You are not content 
to play at living.” 

“You always know; papa. It’s just like a voice 
sometimes, isn’t it?” 

“Yes, Lora, but I fear I have often quenched it 
because I am engrossed with business cares.” 

“It often, very often, speaks to me, papa, and I 
am ashamed of living so aimlessly.” 

Mr. Alexander looked glad. “Lora, I believe you 
will fulfill my unsatisfied desires by being of real 
value to the world. No, daughter, I anticipate your 
thought. I see clearly that while I have made a 
great success in business, as far as the real valuable 
things of life are concerned I am a failure. I re- 
joice that you have these deep thoughts. Never 
quell them, my child, no matter how you are op- 
posed by the people of our circle. Be your true 
self, Lora. Society is an empty vapor and not 
worthy of your pure thought.” 

Lora’s eyes shone. It helped her so, thus to be 
understood. 

“Papa, you know Professor Homeworth’s 
daughter, who is engaged to Mr. Richmond?” 

“Miss Eldah, certainly.” 

“I think she is fine. The night mamma gave her 
last 'at home’ she was here. Also her friend, Miss 
Maddox—” 

“O yes ! Miss Dorothy Maddox. That is Dick’s 
daughter. Why, her father and I were boys to- 
gether on the -farm, went to the same little school 
house and were chums. I want to see her. Invite 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. * 


223 


her here soon. It will be next to seeing Dick to 
meet his daughter. What did you say she was like ?” 

“O ! she is the brightest girl. Mamma said she 
was the life of the party.” 

“Well, well, this is a strange world. How people 
do run across each other. Nothing could please me 
more than to have dear old Richard’s daughter 
become my daughter’s friend.” 

* * * 

Dorothea was pouring out brilliant thoughts from 
her fertile brain to astonish the innocent freshmen, 
when she was interrupted in her meditations by 
the postman’s ring. A dainty missive was handed 
her, an invitation to dine that evening with Eldah. 
That was always a pleasure, but she hoped that 
Mr. Richmond would not be there, for of late she 
had conceived an almost intolerant feeling for him. 
Another ring of the bell announced a private mes- 
senger. Her surprise and pleasure deepened when 
she discovered the note was from Lora Alexander. 

“I cannot endure her mother!” said the decided 
young woman, “but Lora is a sweet young girl. I 
believe she has real depth and strength of charac- 
ter, and my father and Mr. Alexander were boy- 
hood friends. How strangely the pages of our lives 
get turned ! And we meet in life just as they do 
in story books. Well, farewell, my silent public. 
I will afflict you no longer, but will seek a respite 
from my literary cares, not in the foaming bowl, 
but in social functions.” 

Dorothea closed her desk and donned her street 
garments. 


224 


* A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“I will have a regular tramp for a few miles 
and get a glimpse of my hills. They are calling 
me. I feel the response in my soul, or somewhere 
in this mysterious being. Nature never misunder- 
stands my silence. There’s a oneness about us that 
seems a real communion of spirit. I love to put 
my hand on the sturdy oaks. They seem so human 
and say to me, ‘Be strong ! I have overcome and 
so can you.’ I wish people, that is, some people 
who are worth while, could understand me as nature 
does, but because I am so endowed as to make 
people merry, they think that it is all there is 
to me, and little dream that I am capable of 
deep thoughts or that I care for anything besides 
mere surface living. I almost feel as if Eldah 
understands me at times, or did until she turned 
surface herself. It isn’t Eldah, though!” 

Our heroine suddenly paused in her walk and 
stood looking at her loved hilltops in utter silence, 
drinking in, as it were, their messages. 

What they said to her, she locked within her heart. 

She reached Eldah’s in blithe spirits, and car- 
ried, as usual, a warmth and light to the circle 
in which she was always a welcome guest. 

Dorothea noticed that Eldah looked pale. Besides, 
she would lapse into silence and seem oblivious 
of all else, but as Mr. Richmond was not one 
of the party, her wandering thoughts might be 
traceable to the natural state of separated lovers. 

“Stay all night with me, Dorothy,” Eldah said, 
as the party were separating. 

“Do you think I can spare the ‘weesma’ hours’ 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


225 


from my editorial desk, mine friend? Think what 
possibilities you are blighting. All my buds of 
literary fame may hap !” 

“Never mind! The roots are alive, and I’ll war- 
rant there will be plenty of new shoots. Come 
on into my den.” 

Dorothy needed little coaxing and the two were 
soon enjoying a real girls’ chat.. Nonsense and 
sense so intermingled, that it would be like turning 
a kaleidoscope to follow them. 

“Eldah, what about the Settlement work and 
our charge ?” 

Eldah blushed. “I haven’t been there much 
lately.” 

“You don’t mean to say you have given up your 
work there?” 

“Why, no ; not exactly ; but you see I haven’t 
much time for it.” 

Dorothea could not keep the sneer from curling 
her lip, but she said nothing. 

“Why don’t you go down there and teach, Dor- 
othy? You would captivate the whole settlement.” 

“Me! figuring in slum work! No, thank you. 
That is not my calling; but,” she added, with more 
gentleness, “I would like to help Marion out of 
that kind of a life. You surely are not going to 
give her up.” 

“Certainly not, but — ” Eldah found it impossible 
to go on. 

Dorothea divined the cause, but would not change 
the subject. She wanted to talk of Mr. Kingsley, 
and she would, for she felt Eldah deserved rebuke. 


2 26 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“I met Mr. Kingsley to-day and I hardly knew 
him until he spoke to me.” 

“Why, has he been ill ?’* Eldah asked, with forced 
indifference. 

“He looked it. All the spring had gone out of 
his step and he looked years older. He walked 
with me several blocks and was his kind self. I 
think he is the finest man I ever knew except my 
father.” 

Eldah’s face kindled responsively, but in her 
eyes was a look of pain. 

Dorothea, with the firm hand of a surgeon, pro- 
ceeded with the painful task. 

“He is sacrificing himself upon the altar of hu- 
manity, and one of these days there will be a blank 
in the ranks and then that source of help will be 
closed.” 

Eldah kept silent, but the merciless girl before 
her went on, telling of the patient man who was 
going onward with his burdens because he felt it 
duty. 

The more Dorothy talked, the more indignant she 
grew, for Eldah had locked her lips and ceased 
to utter a single response. 

In the meantime the girls had retired, but Dor- 
othy continued the painful subject. At length, una- 
ble to restrain her wrath longer, she gave vent to 
her sentiments in her own emphatic manner. “I 
must say, Eldah, once for all, that I think that you 
are the direct cause of Mr. Kingsley’s failing health, 
and if anything happens him it will be your fault.” 

It was a cruel thrust, but Dorothy meant it in 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


227 


kindness. She felt she must arouse Eldah some 
way. 

The fire flashed in the darkness from two pair 
of blue eyes. Eldah had been stung to the quick 
of her soul all through the conversation, but the 
last was unbearable. 

“I meant it, Eldah, and I will not retract a word,” 
Dorothy said, as she turned over to go to sleep. 

She disliked to quarrel with Eldah, but she 
rested unshaken in her conviction that she had 
spoken the truth. 

Eldah lay with wide open eyes staring into the 
night. It was cruel to have to face again the 
old questioning, cruel to arouse the restlessness 
when she hoped it was stilled forever ; but after 
a time her real self gained the victory. She crept 
up to frigid Miss Dorothy and put her arm around 
her. 

Dorothy let it lie there passively, with no re- 
sponse. 

Eldah sought her hand and gave it a warm 
squeeze. “Don’t be so impatient with me, Dorothy. 
You wouldn’t be if you knew the awful struggles 
I’ve had lately.” 

Dorothy thawed internally, but outwardly it was 
not perceptible. Still, she condescended to say : 
“Perhaps I was harsh, Eldah, but the truth often 
hurts.” 

Eldah shivered as with a nervous chill. 

“O Dorothy !” she exclaimed, with the weight of 
unshed tears in her voice. “I wish you would 


228 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


understand. I cannot say it, and do not feel that 
I have any right to, if I could.” 

The appeal went with arrow-like swiftness to 
the heart of the girl beside her. Dorothy turned 
over and laid her hand upon Eldah’s a moment. 
“Eldah, I cannot endure it to see you make a 
mistake, and I feel you are doing it.” Then, with- 
out manifesting a particle of the real deep affec- 
tion she felt in her heart, she turned away and was 
asleep in five minutes, leaving Eldah alone to strug- 
gle with her heart. 


Chapter XXX. 


“Say, Bert!” 

“Bert,” promptly retorted a tall, well kept Uni- 
versity man, as he looked up from the perusal of 
his Greek lesson. 

“That girl we met the night of the frat recep- 
tion is something out of the ordinary.” 

“How shall I know to whom you refer when 
we met scores of the fair?” asked his friend, with 
provoking coolness. 

“There seemed to be but one you had eyes for, 
anyway.” 

“I am into Greek lore and haven’t time for such 
nonsense,” his friend replied. 

“But she isn’t nonsense.” 

“How am I to fathom who the divine one is, 
if you do not enlighten me? Don’t turn Dante, for 
pity’s sake, if I have to hear of a Beatrice.” Ber- 
tram bent his dark eyes upon his book. 

“Pshaw, now ! Listen just a minute to a fellow, 
and then dig in the graves of the ancients to your 
heart’s content. You know perfectly well that I 
refer to the spicy editor of the Delta paper. You 
had Jessie and all the rest of them green-eyed 
with your attentions to the new girl. I warn you 
there is trouble ahead.” 


229 


230 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“The more the merrier of that kind,” was the 
indifferent reply. 

“But Bert, I wish you' would tell a fellow about 
her. I only had five fortunate minutes with her.” 

“Why did you not pursue your opportunities 
better?” Bertram asked, apparently unconcerned. 

“I would like to know how one could, when you 
monopolized every vacant moment. Say! You made 
a fine looking couple as you led her out to supper. 
Everybody was talking of it. The boys all looked 
enviously at you, while the girls were so occupied 
shooting arrows of revenge, we could not interest 
any of them. It must be fine to have all the girls 
anxious to go with a fellow.” 

“It grows monotonous. One becomes fearfully 
bored with the whole of womankind. It is refresh- 
ing to meet with a change.” 

“The only comment I have been able to elicit 
from you, even if you did go off with the belle 
of the ball.” 

Bertram shaded his too expressive face with his 
hand, and appeared lost in Greek investigations, 
but fortunately Lee did not discover that his book 
was upside down. Evidently his thoughts were en- 
grossed by a more pleasing object than his Greek 
lexicon. 

“Well, good-by, old fellow, since I cannot get 
you to be communicative about your fair partner 
of last night. I might as well hie away to lecture 
halls and forget the charms of Venus in classic 
lore.” 

Lee left his friend smiling, but non-committal. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


231 


The last mentioned individual was a sophomore, 
who looked up with cordial esteem to his roommate, 
who had arrived at the dignity of seniority, and 
was a welcome guest at all the social functions of 
the University. 

Last night the frat boys had entertained the 
Delta’s, and among them was a guest from a neigh- 
boring college. 

“Miss Dorothea Maddox,” Bertram found him- 
self scribbling on his Greek paper, after his friend’s 
departure. 

“He wasn’t far off the track, but I wouldn’t 
let him know it. Superb is the word for her! Such 
a form and complexion ! But the fun and wit that 
flashed out now and then, meteor like, mark her 
as unusual. Then beyond all of that, there’s an 
under current of common sense, a depth that is 
rare among the girls of our set. She is as unaffected 
and natural as a rose just opened.” 

The man whom the girls looked after admir- 
ingly, closed his book with a bang. “Hang it all, 
any way ! Who could study Greek with visions of 
such a glorious type of womanhood floating before 
them ? I’ll walk off my foolishness.” 

* * * * 

Dorothea was working intently over her thesis. 
Her brow was knit and she was completely ab- 
sorbed by her task, when she suddenly dropped 
her pen and smiled. 

“How strange that is ! I was deep into my theme, 
when suddenly — I found myself walking out to the 
banquet hall with Mr. — what was his name?” 


232 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


She plunged again into her work, and while she 
is thus employed, a glance about her room will 
give an index to the girl herself, for our surround- 
ings proclaim us, whether we will or no. 

Not a careless girl. Neatness and refinement 
were in evidence from the moment you entered. 
School banners were conspicuous decorations. A 
shelf full of books told of her friendship with the 
best authors. An oft read and favorite book was 
a story of wild animal life, which fascinated this 
truly western girl, who had been raised upon the 
broad prairies and known the free life of the great 
out of doors, until it had expanded her soul. She 
chafed like a prisoner at times under the restraints 
of city life, for she felt ‘the call of the wild’ and 
longed to escape the limitations of town, breathe 
again her native air, and gain a wider outlook. 

Within this Prairie Rose are great possibilities. 
Will she develop them, or just rest content to laugh 
her way through the world? 

No one could escape the contagion of her ringing 
laughter. It was indicative of the girl, and bubbled 
over like a merry brook dancing its way over peb- 
bles. Will she laugh her way over the rocks in her 
life path? It is certain she will meet them with a 
brave front, however deeply they may wound. 

It was a great comfort to her to watch the river, 
of which she caught a fine view from her window. 
She often stood gazing at it, as she repeated : “I 
stood on the bridge at midnight,” with such true 
expression, that brought out all the beauty and 
power of the piece. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


233 


These are sidelights upon the character of one 
who was the leader in all the mad frolics ; for it 
would be impossible for such a strong type of 
womanhood to escape leadership. The lesser lights 
in school life admired and stood in awe, for in the 
midst of some escapade, she would quell the wildest 
with a gesture, or even a look, which proved her 
general like qualities. 

But her quiet is invaded by a crowd of girls. 

“O Dorothy ! We came to consider ways and 
means about our ward.” 

“We are just aching to fix her up.” 

“Since Eldah’s engagement we cannot get any 
satisfaction out of her.” 

“You’ve seen her. Do tell us all about her.” 

"The last shall be first,” said Dorothea. “I will 
answer your question, Geraldine, out of the shower 
that sudenly descends upon my defenseless pate. 
I have seen Marion. She is pretty. There is some- 
thing to the child worth working with. I would 
adopt her myself if I could.” 

“O Dorothy! You are the funniest girl! You 
adopt a child !” 

“I don’t see anything so tefribly funny about 
that,” exclaimed stately Miss Dorothy, with a toss 
of her head. “I would adopt a whole half dozen 
if I could. Marion is all right, and I’ll see her 
through myself, since Eldah is otherwise interested.” 

“Well, do let us begin her outfit pretty soon.” 

“All right. We will go shopping Saturday and 
begin next week. I will make a trip to Mr. Kings- 
ley’s and get her dimensions, and won’t we have 


234 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


fun transforming her into a self-respecting little 
woman! I am going to be chief guardian, for what 
is the use of expecting anything from Eldah when 
she is caught in a sentimental tangle.” 

“Matrimonial, you mean, for I suppose they’ll be 
married before a great while.” 

“I mean just what I said. It’s a sentimental 
tangle !” 

Dorothy’s face darkened. 

“O well, it means the same,” said a conciliatory 
maiden. 

“Do you really suppose a wedding will take 
place?” asked Dorothy, her face still shadowed by 
a frown. 

“To be sure. Why on earth shouldn’t it?” 

“Why should it, indeed?” retorted Dorothea, the 
indignant blood mounting to her forehead. 

“Now, Dorothy Dix, don’t get tragic. I believe 
you’re jealous because Mr. Richmond didn’t take 
you. 

The blue eyes grew black as night under this 
thrust and the young woman drew herself up with 
the dignity of an injured queen. 

“Take me ! I would like to see any man hake 
me’ unless I chose to be taken. Allow me to inform 
you, Miss Lucy, that I wouldn’t tolerate that indi- 
vidual for five minutes ! I have never seen a man 
yet whom I adore enough to marry, and I can 
just tell you that no weakling is going to conquer 
me.” 

She looked triumphantly about as if ready to defy 
the whole realm of mankind, and it is well that her 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


235 


listeners were only a group of girls, for had the 
sterner sex been present, it is feared they would 
have laid sieg'e to this indomitable castle, for never 
had she looked more interesting than at this mo- 
ment of resentment, her eyes flashed and her 
color deepened. 

“Dolly is on her mettle and is very becoming,” 
piped one of the younger girls. 

“I don’t care. I mean it and a whole lot more! 
Half of you girls don’t know the first thing about 
love.” 

“Ah, Dixy, what makes you so learned, and 
how can you measure us so wisely?” 

“Well, there’s precious little of the genuine article 
and the imitation bores me dreadfully.” 

“After which highly instructive lecture upon a 
bewitching subject, we will adjourn to meet when 
we feel the need of another,” laughed Geraldine. 

The group departed as gaily as they came. 

“Mr. Richmond, indeed !” the irate young lady 
exclaimed. “A man of his stamp cannot compare 
with Mr. Kingsley. He is a kingly man. I could 
shake Eldah, I get so indignant at her. I never 
thought she, of all persons, would prefer wealth 
to character. I vow I will never have anything 
to do with sentimentality. Friendship with a good 
man is the better thing. I will stick religiously 
to that.” 

So with determination enough to bid defiance to 
the whole race of mankind, Miss Dorothy turned 
to her studies. 


Chapter XXXI. 


“Never mind, Dimple, I’se a big man and I’ll 
get you something to eat pretty soon. There ! don’t 
cry. I’ll take care of you; but you must stay here 
like a good girl till I come back.’’ 

“Me goin’ too, Jacky ; me goin’ 
with ’ou,” baby responded, her 
little face lighting up. 

“No, you can’t. Mens don’t 
take their children when they go 
to work, and I’m a big man and 
I’ll have to leave you here till I 
get back. Here, take kitty and 
go to sleep. I’ll come home soon 
as I can.” 

Jack succeeded in depositing the three-year-old 
girlie on the bed and plumped a half starved kitten 
into her arms by way of consolation during his 
enforced absence. 

Then out into the street he sped, and was quite 
lost to view among the moving throngs. Seeing 
a newsboy, the sturdy little man accosted him, ask- 
ing for a job. 

Tom was a professional in his line and regarded 
the new aspirant with interest. However, it was 
against, his principles to display his real feelings, 
so he looked the intruder over in a disdainful man- 
236 




A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


237 


ner and chillingly asked : “What do youse want, 
youse little scamp? Git along with you. I can’t 
be bothered by the likes of youse.” 

The bright face before him clouded, the lips 
all but quivered, but the manly little chap drew 
himself up and explained his errand in such a way 
as to penetrate the ragged jacket and go straight 
to the heart of his listener. 

“Well ! Well ! Well ! If youse ain’t a good’en, then 
I never seed one. See here ; youse aint big as half 
a dollar youseself. Youse will get lost sure as a 
shootin’ match, and youse can’t even count, kin 
youse ?” 

Tom secretly admired the youthful business man, 
and resolved to give him a lift, after he had tor- 
mented him,s boy fashion, a little longer. 

“Where youse live, any way?” 

Jack replied, and added : “Please hurry, ’cause 
my baby will wake up and cry. Her’s hungry now ; 
so am I,” admitted the small boy, eyeing the other 
wistfully. 

This appeal was irresistible. Tom stuck five pa- 
pers in the boy’s hand and yelled : “Come on Bill, 
or whatever your handle is. I’ll pilot you through 
this gang and we’ll get the baby some supper.” 

Jack followed close at his heels for several blocks, 
then waited further orders. 

“Now, Sammy, Tim, or Johnny Jump Up, you 
stand here and yell, ‘papers, mister,’ and I’ll bet 
your life, you’ll sell ’em every one.” 

Tom disappeared and the little fellow felt truly 


238 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


forsaken as he stood alone in the throng. His 
little voice was lost in the crowd, people nearly 
knocked him off his feet as they hurried by. Many, 
many people, and no one heeded the brave little 
lad who was trying to earn his baby’s supper. 

It was almost dusk and Jack was divided in mind 
as to his duty. Dimple would be awake and crying 
for him. The people pushed him so, and he felt 
great lumps coming up in his throat, but he 
wouldn’t cry ; not he ; he was a man. “Mens don't 
cry,” he asserted, “only just babies.” 

The small hero clutched his papers and ran after 
a man who had given him a half kindly glance. 

“ Please do buy one,” begged Jack. 

The man handed him a penny and hope revived, 
but it was quite dark now and he was becoming 
more anxious about his charge. Besides, his little 
arms ached with pushing through the heedless 
crowd. 

Just then a cheery voice sang out: “Well, Johnny 
Jump Up, how’s youse luck?” and Jack looked up 
into the rough but kindly face of his protector, 
and grabbing him by both hands, the, long sup- 
pressed tears burst forth. 

“There! there! little feller; don’t youse cry. I’ll 
see to youse. Here, mister. See this little chap. 
He’s man of the house ; buy a paper of him, sir.” 

In a few minutes Jack’s papers were all sold and 
five pennies laid in his eager little hand. 

“I’m awful hungry, and Dimple will cry and cry. 
I must get her something to eat and go home quick.” 

“I’ll see to that. Come along with me,” and the 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


239 


young philanthropist escorted the child to a neigh- 
boring bakery. “Youse see, youse can have five 
buns with sugar on ’em. Ain’t that a good supper 
for a king? Two and a half apiece, if you divvy 
up fair. Looky here, mister, toss in stick of candy 
for the kid and I’ll foot the bill.” 

Jack beamed upon his benefactor. “You are an 
awful kind boy if you don’t talk nice.” 

“Youse a daisy of a kid; I'll see youse home, 
for I’ll bet a penny youse can’t tell where youse 
lives.” 

Jack admitted his ignorance of location. “But 
it’s down that way and I know it when I see the 
the place." 

This was correct and they were soon climbing the 
stairs of a rickety old building. 

Dimple was in the rocking chair with kitty held 
tightly to her heart, crying and talking to herself. 

“O Jacky! Jacky!” the tot cried, as she ran 
t ward him, “I’se so hungry, ’ou didn’t turn at all.” 

“Never mind, babe. Here’s the nicest supper 
and a boy come to see us. ’Sides, here’s a whole 
stick of candy ; only you’ll let me suck it, too, won’t 
you, babe?” looking at the prize longingly, as it 
seemed in imminent danger of disappearing down 
the baby’s throat. She gave a gleeful gurgle of pure 
delight, and seated upon the floor was the picture 
of infantile bliss, as she held the tempting sweet 
in her chubby hands. 

“Won’t you save a little bit for me, babe?” que- 
ried Jack, anxiously. “Ese !” said the small lady, 


240 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


generously removing it from her mouth and poking 
it half way down his throat. 

“Here’s your supper.” Jack plumped the two and 
a half buns into her lap, while he made the most 
of the opportune moment to get his share of the 
candy. 

Never did a benefactor look on with more genu- 
ine pleasure than the ragged urchin, as he watched 
this touching scene. 

“Well, kids, I’ll look in on youse to-morrow. 
Youse a precious pair.” 

Left alone, Jack finished his share of the feast, 
and with the air of a perfect martyr, handed Dimple 
the last suck of the precious candy. He could 
hardly keep awake after his first day’s labor and 
nearly fell asleep in spite of baby’s poking her little 
fingers into his falling eyelids. 

“Me wants my sleepy down on, Jacky.” 

Jack aroused himself to his domestic duties and 
trudged manfully off in search of the reposing robe. 
Then, although nearly falling asleep in the act, 
he worked until he got the wiggling baby girl into 
her “sleepy down” and helped her up on the high 
bed, not waiting even to relieve his tired feet of 
his shoes, he tumbled in after her, and the two 
were soon fast asleep, attended only by the guar- 
dian angels that are said to surround early child- 
hood. 


Chapter XXXII. 


“Well, Johnny Jump Up, How’s the world been 
using youse this morning?” asked a cheery voice, 
as the man of the house tumbled out of bed and 
rubbed his sleepy eyes. 

‘‘Here’s some breakfast for youse, and time you 
gulp that down, I’ll be back and talk business. 
Here, kid, hurry that down, and if ’taint ’nough 
there’ll be more to foller — I aint the man to see 
two kids starve to death.” 

With which the man of business shot out of the 
door and was half way down the street before the 
astonished children had realized his presence was 
not a part of their dreams. 

“Dive me some, buzzer,” lisped the now wide- 
awake Dimple. 

Jack promptly filled both hands while the child 
cooed and gurgled with perfect satisfaction. 

“God tooked care of us good, didn’t He, baby?” 

“Dod a nice Dod and me love Him this high !” 
Dimple threw her little hands above her head and 
laughed gleefully. 

“Papa said the last night he was home that God 
would help us. I ’spect papa will come back to-day. 

“He said it’s awful hard to find work and you 
have to walk a long ways. But I ’spect he’ll come 
to-day.” 


241 


242 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


to-day!” the ever hopeful baby 

“Papa told me to take care of 
you and be a man. I did, didn’t 
I, baby?” 

The young gentleman of six 
years drew himself up proudly, 
coveting, man fashion, the ad- 
miration of the fairer sex. 

“Ese, me love ’ou, buzzer,” 
and two plump little arms almost 
dislocated his medulla oblongata 
in an ardent embrace. 

“O stop ! you hurt ! I don’t like to be hugged so 
hard.” 

“Me tiss ’ou, then/' and the dear little prattler, 
with her breakfast still cleaving to her rosy mouth, 
scattered several kisses promiscuously on his nose 
and chin. 

“O you’re dirty! I don’t like to kiss dirty girls.” 

“Me aint a dirty girl,” babe asserted, as became 
her injured dignity. 

Jack rubbed the surface of his physiognomy and 
bethought to scrub his charge. 

“I’ll clean you all up, babe, and then you may 
kiss me,” the young gent said, with true masculine 
condescension. 

“Me don’t want ’ou to,” baby objected. 

And well she might, for Jack was masterful, and 
bent upon doing his work thoroughly. All her 
sweet baby pleading were unavailing. He rubbed 
and polished her with soap until she would have 


“My papa turn 
echoed. 



A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


243 


done credit to an advertising- firm for Scourine. 
Meanwhile she wiggled and tugged to escape her 
persecutor, and having resigned all hope of using 
her female arts to beguile, was uttering the most 
piercing shrieks, when the door opened and their 
business friend rushed in. 

“What’s doin’ here, I’d like to know? Say! are 
you killing that kid? I’ll lay youse out if youse 
hurt her.” Grabbing the baby from her brother 
and depositing her on a chair some distance off. 

Dimple stopped screaming to see what was hap- 
pening. 

“I was just cleaning her up,” apologized the 
small boy. 

“Well, I’d be accommodating enough to leave 
the young un her hide, if I was in youse place. 1 
don’t wonder she objects to soap suds. Never had 
any too much love for ’em myself,” rubbing a grimy 
hand over his face. 

Jack, the immaculate, looked up disgustedly. 

“I wouldn’t be such a dirty boy as you for any- 
thing !” 

“Now, little shaver, don't you go tossing any 
slurs this here way. Thomas O’Ryan won’t stand 
none of your sass.” 

Tom 'picked up the baby and set her on his knee. 
“Say! but youse is a sweet un. Aint you got no 
maw ?” 

Dimple shook her head uncomprehendingly. 

“What’s that?” asked Jack. 

“Why, a woman that borned youse.” 

“I never heard of that,” said Jack. 


244 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“Well, youse is a sharp tin. Some folks call ’em 
‘mothers,’ some ‘maws’ and I heered onct that rich 
folks sez ‘mamma.’ ” 

“Mamma!” repeated Jack, as two big tears filled 
the blue eyes. “Yes, we had a mamma, but papa 
said that God loved her so much he coined right 
down in the middle of the night and tooked her 
up in the sky.” 

.. “Did youse see Him doin’ it?” Tom asked, inter- 
estedly. 

“No, papa said so. Dimple and me was asleep 
when God came. I s’pose He drove up to the door 
real still so’s not to wake us up, for he knew we’d 
feel awful ; and so He just tooked her away still, 
and when we waked up mamma was gone and 
papa cried awful. Lots and lots of peoples come, 
then papa took us away on the train. We rode 
and rode and then papa brought us here, and then 
went to find work, and he hasn’t come back yet ; 
but he’ll come to-day, sure.” 

“My papa turn to-day!” squealed Dimple, with 
sparkling eyes, and running to the window she 
looked down the street expectantly. 

Tom has listened intently. “Well, old fellow, 
youse is a brick.” 

Jack wondered how a boy could be likened to 
a brick that he saw lying in the street below, but 
he discreetly refrained from displaying his igno- 
rance. 

“What’s youse goin’ to do if your dad don’t 
show up to-night?” he questioned. 

Jack looked perplexed, never having heard his 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


245 


father called by this appellation, and wondering 
what show Tom meant. Was it Punch and Judy 
that he had watched on the billboards ? 

Tom, seeing his confusion, endeavored to en- 
lighten his listener. “It’s plain as peanuts on a 
rooster’s tail that you do not know much about 
the world.” 

Jack felt humiliated, but only half understood. 

“Well, Pete, ’twon’t do fur me to hang around 
here any more just at present; but you bet youse 
life I’ll be ’round ’fore the day’s over and see if 
youse pop’s come. If he don’t, I ’spose I’m in for 
it — got to shell out mother dime and git youse 
some grub to-night,” complained Tom, while the 
fact of the matter was, that his heart was bounding 
with delight over his philanthropy. 

“They’re dandies all right !” exclaimed Tom, as 
he raced down the street to get his papers. “I’ll 
keep track of ’em till their dad shows up ; and if 
he don’t, I’ll s’port ’em myself. If the blue coats 
gets wind on it, they’ll hustle ’em off to them 
’sylums. That would be a shame, nice kids like 
’em. They aint no common trash to be knocked 
around in ’sylums. I’ll tend to ’em myself till Jack 
can earn sumthin’.” 

Feeling greatly elated over his self-imposed guar- 
dianship, he almost knocked over several pedestri- 
ans in his efforts to reach the news office. “Give 
me twice as many this time. Mister, I’m a man 
of a family now, and two mouths to fill ’sides my 
own,” he added, proudly. 

The man smiled faintly. Such tales were of too 


246 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


frequent occurrence to make much impression on 
the listener. “ 

All day the children spent most of the time at 
the window watching the passersby and hoping 
each was papa. 

“It’s hard to find work,” Jack remarked, with 
the air of a man who had battled with life. 

“I worked hard for you, yesterday, Babe.” 

“Me love ’ou, buzzer,” pouncing upon her unwill- 
ing victim with great ardency. 

“I don’t care if you do, or if you don’t, if you'll 
let me alone. There, let me alone, will you?” Jack 
jerked away from her. 

Dimple, who was hungry for mamma’s and 
papa’s love, turned her bright little face away, 
while an April shower threatened. 

Jack, unwilling to betray any unmanly weakness, 
but tender and compassionate by nature, was 
touched. 

“O well! Never mind Babe. You are just a 
little one, and I’ll ’cuse you,” administering a 
resounding smack as he magnanimously embraced 
her. 

The shower retreated and Babe showed all her 
dimples. She looked adoringly at her “buzzer,” 
just as the lords of creation love to be gazed at. 
Jack was duly flattered and quite ready to be 
caressed, “Only not too tight, Babe,” as she 
squeezed him until he was almost, black in the face. 

“I want my papa!” sighed Dimple, climbing into 
the broad window seat. “Dod taked my papa, too.” 

“God wouldn't take our papa. He knows we 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 247 

have to have our papa. It's bad ’nough to do with- 
out mamma.” 

A very sober face had Jack, as he uttered these 
pathetic words. 

“I wants my papa to wock me,” murmured Dim- 
ple, her little head drooping against the window, 
and the lashes fast closing over the blue eyes. 

“Come on, Dimple, I’ll rock you. Here we go!” 

He dragged her to the big chair ancf she fell 
into it with a thud. 

“Now, shut your eyes and hold on tight.” 

He rocked violently a few minutes, Babe making 
a comical picture screwing her plump little face 
up into a knot, trying to keep the eyes closed as 
commanded. 

Jack accompanied the rocking with a song of his 
own composition, snatches of nursery jingles and 
hymns his mother had sung to them, blended into 
the most astonishing combinations. Strange to say, 
it had a soothing effect upon the little one, whose 
face relaxed, and the child was so near asleep 
when Jack dragged her to bed, she only opened 
her eyes to smile and then landed in dreamland. 

He then resumed his outlook at the window, and 
as the sun sank lower, likewise the little fellow’s 
spirits went down. Besides, he felt an uncomfort- 
able void within, having eaten nothing since his 
gracious friend provided breakfast. 

“Seems like papa’s gone to Heaven, too, but 
’course God wouldn’t take him. I s’pose he had 
to walk a long, long ways to find work and it 
takes a good many days.” 


248 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Jack looked sadly patient, as he leaned his head 
against the pane. 

Just then a cheery, but grimy face glanced up at 
him and a hoarse voice sang out: “Hello, Johnny 
Jump Up! Has your pop cumed? I’m in for it, 
then,” he said resignedly. “But I’m your man. 
Want somethin’ ter chew?” 

Jack nodded. 

“It’s yourn ’fore one hundred seconds,” and 
he darted upstairs and into the room before Jack 
could reach the door. 

“That’ll keep your jaws busy awhile anyhow,” 
thrusting a chunk of bologna into Jack’s open 
mouth. 

“Kid asleep?” Jack nodded. “Well, here’s a hunk 
for her. And wait. Little uns needs somethin’ 
else.” Tom proudly drew forth a bottle of milk 
and placed it upon the table. Then, exhausted by 
his labors, he threw himself into the rocking chair 
and felt all the importance of his newly acquired 
possessions. 

“Where’s your supper?” asked Jack, stopping in 
the midst of a bite. 

“Mine? Don’t want none. Got indigestion, under 
doctor’s care, dasen’t eat anythin more than have 
to, to keep on sellin’ papers.” 

Jack looked very sympathetic. He wondered 
what that dreadful thing was that interfered with 
his boyish appetite. 

“Can’t you eat nothing?” 

“Not to-night, mister, thankee. Isn’t that roily 
polly ever going to wake up and git her supper?” 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


249 


Just then Babe opened her eyes. Tom stole up 
to the bed and gazed at her in undisguised admi- 
ration. 

“Landy, but she is a pretty one ! Here, little puss, 
I s’pose youse wouldn’t like a drink of milk, would 
youse ?” 

“Me do ! me do !” She clapped her hands, kicked 
her little feet in the air, rolled off the bed, and 
fell in a rosy heap on the floor. 

Tom set her right side up and poured out a 
cup of milk, while his heart beat with true chivalry 
as he watched her drink it. 

“Want some too, bub?” turning to the young 
gent who stood close at hand awaiting his turn. 

Jack disposed of it to the satisfaction of his 
friend. Tom handed Dimple a huge piece of bo- 
logna and seated himself in front of her, where 
he could admire her to his heart’s content. 

Tom mentally slapped himself on the back as 
he exclaimed: “Good boy, Tom! Never anybody 
down at them missions beat that. You don’t mind 
losin’ a supper now and then to make two infants 
happy. And I say, she’s a duck! You’re all right, 
Thomas O’Ryan. Them pious people can’t go 
ahead of that.” 

As Dimple disposed of the last scrap of the feast, 
Tom slammed the door on them. “Now git into 
bed as quick as youse kin, or the black man’ll git 
youse.” He left the trembling tots to creep to 
bed, where they were mercifully tortured with fears 
but a short time. The stars shone in at the window 
and saw them asleep, with Dimple’s arm around 


250 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


her brother's neck. Black-hearted evil was all about 
them, but it did not enter there. Perhaps the guar- 
dian spirit was their own dear mother, for they 
slept as securely and sweetly as in their once happy 
home. f 


Chapter XXXIII. 


Morning brought their business friend with 
breakfast. His rough tenderness was greatly in- 
creased by every visit to his charges. 

“Now, Peter Piper, if youse pop don’t show 
up, I’m goin’ to move in and stay with youse.” 

“O goody ! goody!” shouted Jack, who had strug- 
gled manfully to be brave, but was growing more 
lonely every hour. 

“O don’t leave us, please!” Jack clung to his 
ragged protector. 

“But youse see, kid, I has to earn our grub ; in 
other words, our livin’, or if youse don’t know 
what that means, I has to get somethin’ for us to 
chew on.” 

“I know!” Jack responded, with all the gravity 
of a philosopher. 

Tom touched Dimple’s hair lovingly. “Good-by, 
little un ! Say, Bub !” turning to Jack. “If I clean 
my face all up good as yourn, will — that is, kin I ?” 
Tom hesitated. Jack looked surprised at his con- 
fusion. “What is it you want?” 

“Why, kin I—” Tom cleared his throat and felt 
as abashed at his boldness as if he were about 
to ask for the hand of a princess. He started out 
again, and this time made the rapids. “Kin I kiss 
the little un when 1 comes home to-night?” 

251 


252 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Jack looked into the honest face of his bene- 
factor. ‘‘Of course you can !” wondering very 
much how anyone would care to be slobbered over 
by a baby. For his part, he wouldn’t mind if she 
never kissed him. But then, he wa§ only her 
brother. 

Tom flew down the street, happy as a king. 
Anticipation was beating high. What good times 
he would have raising the kids ! He felt already 
a man of years, and no more generous heart 
throbbed under finest broadcloth, than the one now 
bounding with delight over the plans for his pro- 
teges. All day he worked cheerily, being a living 
exponent of the truth, that “the three grand essen- 
tials to human happiness, are something to do, 
something to hope for, and something to love.” 

Tom had found all three for the first time in 
his hard life, and his cheery whistle caused many 
a tired passer-by to go on with increased courage, 
feeling there was still sunshine in the world, how- 
ever dark it looked at times. 

But to return to the children. The day wore on 
but slowly to the eager little watchers. At last 
Jack’s restlessness could be no longer curbed. He 
suggested to Dimple that they go for a walk. 
May be they would meet papa. 

Dimple turned more rosy than ever at the 
thought, and danced about until Jack had the great- 
est difficulty getting her into her little jacket. He 
tied on her hat, and taking her chubby hand in his, 
led her carefully down the broken stairs. 

Once in the street they were wild with happi- 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


253 


ness after their long* imprisonment. Jack was deeply 
interested in the busy life about him. Dimple’s 
eyes grew larger than ever at each new wonder, 
while her little tongue chattered incessantly. 

“See ! see ! buzzer. A dolly !” she exclaimed, as 
she refused to be led past a window displaying 
many toys. 

Jack was willing to be delayed, but his thoughts 
reversing to papa, he succeeded in coaxing Babe 
away. 

“But we must find our papa, Dimple.’’ 

The treasured dolly lost its power to fascinate, 
as Babe moved away and scanned every manly 
form. 

Jack, in his eagerness, had wandered farther 
than his intent. He began to feel lost and strange. 

"Please, mister, have you seen our papa?” Jack 
at last appealed to a man who glanced at him won- 
deringly. 

The answer was an indifferent shake of the 
head, so Jack marched on with the same appeal 
repeated over and over. Sometimes the words were 
lost in the noise of the street, sometimes a rough 
voice replied, “Never knew your dad,” or, “Git 
along there, cubs,” or “No place for children of 
your size.” 

Sometimes the children forgot their search in 
the attractiveness of shop windows ; but still on 
they went, growing more tired and hungry with 
each step. 

The lights began to appear in the streets, the 
baby’s steps grew slower and slower, until Jack 


254 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


could hardly drag her onward. He wondered 
where they were, and turning off on a side street, 
sat down on a doorstep to think it oyer. It seemed 
so good to rest his tired feet. Dimple cuddled down 
confidently at his side, tired but contented to be 
near her buzzer. Such a wee cuddling darling she 
was, just made to fit into some lonely motherly 
arms. Her eyelids had a suspicious droop, and 
Jack soon found a sleepy little head leaning against 
his manly bosom. 

‘'Wake up, Babe! We’ve got to find papa, or else 
go home before you can go to sleep,” he said reso- 
lutely. 

“All wite,” chirped the cheerful pet, as he dragged 
her, not very gently to the pavement. 

On they trudged, a truly pathetic sight, such 
tired little travelers ! 

At length Dimple was unable to restrain her hun- 
ger at the sight of some bakery goods, and began 
to cry: “Me so hungry, buzzer.” 

“Stop, Babe ! There, don't cry ! That’s a good 
girl. Tom is going to bring us some supper,” he 
said with an assumed cheerfulness he was far from 
feeling, for he wondered very much how they would 
find Tom. 

At last, worn out with their quest, that grew 
more hopeless every moment, they sought another 
doorstep. Here the now exhausted child sank into 
a deep slumber, from which Jack did not try to 
arouse her, for he was busily engaged in trying 
to overcome some lumps that seemed to swell each 
moment until his throat ached. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


255 


‘Tm a man, so I won't cry, but I want my papa !” 
The long- suppressed emotion burst forth at last 
in a real wail of distress. 

It caught the ear of a gentleman. He stopped, 
questioned the boy, looked at the sleeping little one, 
and then went down the street looking for a blue- 
coated guardian of the helpless. 

His search proving unsuccessful, he returned, 
and lifting the sleeping child in his arms, he gave 
his hand to the brave little fellow and led them 
to a plain but brightly lighted building. Deposit- 
ing the child upon the sofa so tenderly he did not 
waken her, he turned to the gentleman of the 
house and told him all that he knew of the children. 

“It’s all right, Trueman. I’ll keep them until I 
can see what is best to do.” 

Mr. Trueman handed Jack a dollar. “That will 
get you a good supper. Are you hungry ?” he 
asked, as he patted the boy’s head and thought of 
his dear ones safely sheltered at home. 

“He’s a fine looking boy, Kingsley, and as for 
the baby, she is a sleeping beauty. They are of 
good parentage, it is evident. I’ll look in to-morrow 
and see what can be done about them. Good-night.” 

“Do there be any man angels?” asked Jack, sol- 
emnly, “and do they wear clothes?” 

“Why?” queried Mr. Kingsley, much amused. 

“Because he seemed good as a angel and tooked 
care of us so nice.” 

“You blessed boy!” Mr.. Kingsley hugged him 
close up to his Jieart in a way that made Jack 
almost as happy as if safe in his father’s arms. 


256 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


"We will have some supper and a good sleep. 
Then to-morrow we will see about finding papa.” 

Both Jack’s arms were around his neck. “I love 
you and the man angel next to my papa !” So true 
is the instinct of childhood to respond to those 
who love them, their fine spirits grasping the true 
kinship of soul and rarely making a mistake. 

Mr. Kingsley carried off his boy, as he already 
called him, to the kitchen, where he displayed the 
most astonishing appetite. When it was somewhat 
appeased, he put him to bed and lingered lovingly 
over him. Then he turned to the couch and cov- 
ered the little one as tenderly as fond mother might 
have done. 

He sank into a chair and covered his face with 
his hands. Some struggle of soul was upon him, 
for the tense lines were drawn across his forehead, 
and when he raised his head, his face was white 
and wan. Once or twice he murmured, “Eldah- 
rema! Eldahrema!” then suddenly checked himself. 
“It is wrong to sorrow thus. God’s will must be 
best, although we see it not.” 

Thus with admirable resolution, he forgot his 
own suffering in service for others. Every ounce 
of his strength was expended in the effort to lift 
the unfortunate lives about him to a more whole- 
some moral atmosphere. He was thoughtful and 
provident for all save himself. 

Presently his quiet was broken in upon by several 
noisy boys from the street. Rough, hard faces, 
some really bad, but all of them softened as they 
neared their friend, who held out a welcoming 


4 STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


25 7 


hand to each. “How are you, lads.?” he said kindly, 
as they circled about his chair. 

A medley of voices began to ascend from the 
gymnasium. The more quiet children sought the 
other room, where toys, pictures, and games, 
abounded. “Brother! brother! May we do this?” 
Or, “Will you help me, please?” was heard upon 
all sides. 

The unfeigned love that beamed in every eye, 
was more eloquent than any word portrayal can 
be. It was wonderful the amount of influence this 
quiet man possessed over the noisy children. “John, 
I wouldn’t do that,” and John, without a question, 
relinquished his hold upon a smaller boy, looking 
sheepish indeed.” 

Many were the side talks and confidences poured 
into “Brother’s” sympathetic ear, and when the 
time came for them to return to their wretched 
homes, he quelled the confusion by a chord struck 
on the piano, and after a good-night song, a simple 
prayer that was a real talk to a real Friend, more 
than a hundred children passed into the street, 
having spent the evening in innocent, healthful, and 
instructive ways, and but for this open door, many of 
them would have lingered in saloons or listening 
to the coarse jests of hardened men and women. 

For five years this oasis in the wilderness of sin 
had opened its doors invitingly and kept many a 
boy and girl from sinking to the level of their 
home life. 

Marion was the last to go to-night. She turned 
a wistful face to Mr. Kingsley, saying: “O Brother! 


258 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Isn’t Miss Homesworth ever coming here any 
more !” 

Child as she was, she could but see the pain her 
question caused. 

“I don’t know, Marion. I — I hope so, but I fear 
not.” 

“Then I shall just die without her!” she said, 
not a tear in her eye, but hopeless despair visible 
in every line of her child’s face. 

She darted out of the door and sped on into the 
night. “I cannot live without her! I say I cant!” 
she exclaimed, vehemently, as she sped on in the 
darkness. 

'k ^ ^ 

At that moment Eldah was in a softly lighted 
parlor, listening to the adoration of as handsome 
a knight as ever wooed fair lady. But why did 
the thrilling and never tiresome tale bring no spar- 
kle to her eyes, but only a sadness that made her 
sweet face positively pensive? 

“My love, you are sad to-night. May I share 
the cause ?” 

“Am IPO, it’s nothing !” 

“But I know it is something, and soon I shall 
claim the right to share every thought.” 

Eldah felt a sudden and positive recoil. 

Mr. Richmond caught the shrinking, and hastily 
added: “Not against your will, but because you 
will wish to when we are one. Will you not?” 

Then the light full and clear broke over Eldah’s 
soul. “Share with him her every thought!” She 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


259 


never, never could ! “One with him !” It could never 
never, never be ! 

Love is quick to feel the slightest change in its 
beloved. Mr. Richmond turned pale, as telepathy 
flashed what was passing within his dear one’s 
mind. He waited in painful suspense. 

“I don’t think I can talk any more to-night,” 
Eldah said at length, with a great effort. 

“You are tired, or ill, is that it?” asked Mr. 
Richmond, a gleam of hope lighting his face for 
a moment. 

“I don’t think so. Do not come until I send you 
a note. 

He put his arm about her. “You will not keep 
me waiting very long with your commands, will 
you, my Queen?” 

Eldah lifted a sad, sad face to his. She felt so 
very sorry for him. 

“No, I will be brave and have it out now,” she 
thought, as she spoke with sudden and almost des- 
perate calmness. “Sit down a moment,” drawing 
away from his detaining arms. 

“I have slowly but surely been awakening to the 
truth that I have wronged you deeply. Please do 
not stop me. I must say it! To-night a full revela- 
tion is upon me, and in the light of it, I dare not 
allow you to claim a lover’s rights, much less look 
forward to a closer relationship. Listen !” she com- 
manded, as she saw he was about to plead. “Listen ! 
I blush that I have been so weak as to yield thus 
far, for I hold an engagement almost as sacred 
as the marriage vow ; but because I have sinned — ” 


260 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“Sinned!” interrupted Mr. Richmond. “You 
sinned! You are not yourself to-night, Eldah. 
Sleep over this, I beg you, before you say any more 
words like these, that cut me to the heart.” 

“Had I not sinned, you would not suffer thus 
acutely. And I beg of you, in all humility, to par- 
don, if you ever can, my great wrong in allowing 
this to develop into an engagement. But better a 
thousand times an engagement broken than kept, 
if there is not oneness of soul.” 

The proud man before her trembled with sup- 
pressed feeling. 

Eldah never looked nobler than in the utterance 
of these words. Deep sorrow was in her eyes, but 
she spoke the convictions of a true soul. 

She sadly drew off her beautiful engagement 
ring, looked at it a moment, and then laid it without 
a word in Mr. Richmond’s hand. 

The silence was so profound you could almost 
detect the beating of these two hearts as they 
stood at the parting of the ways. 

Mr. Richmond sat stunned. He could not believe 
that all his future happiness was shattered. Words 
that usually came so fluently, failed him. Eldah 
went on, as she knew she must, speaking as if 
she stood in the white light of eternity. 

“Mr. Richmond, I confess myself a weak woman. 
The position you offered dazzled my eyes for a 
time, but I sincerely thought when I accepted your 
love, that it would satisfy my heart. ‘Mine is the 
sin and be mine the repentance.’ Something deep 
within my soul tells me I am doing right, and 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS . 


261 


speaking the truth as God would have me. Forgive 
me, forgive me, if you can. And believe me, I 
would never have led you thus far, had I not sin- 
cerely thought I could grow to care for you with 
my whole soul. But alas ! I was mistaken, and 
so we stand to-night for the last time upon Love’s 
holy ground. It would sully my womanhood to 
continue to take your generous love, and in the 
full light in which I now stand, walk with you 
the path whose termination is the sacred altar. No! 
No! Do not tempt me,” as he lifted his eyes to 
her imploringly. 

“I must be true to my convictions. I had rather 
died than cause any man to suffer thus, but I can- 
not, cannot be your wife !” 

As she said these fatal words she left the room. 
The silence was broken only by the ticking of the 
clock. How long the poor man sat there in his 
misery, he never knew, but at length he staggered 
to his feet like one having received a mortal wound. 

Blinded by grief, hopeless, despairing, he went 
forth into the night, and midnight, deep midnight 
was in him. 

Only the stars looked down upon the proud man’s 
anguish. 

“O stars ! sweet stars, so changeless and serene ! 

What depths of woe your pitying eyes have seen. 
The proud sun sets and leaves us with our sorrow 

To grope alone in darkness till the morrow. 
The languid moon, e’en if she deigns to rise, 

Soon seeks her couch, grown weary of our sighs. 


262 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


The patient stars shine on ! 

Steadfast and faithful from twilight till the dawn, 
Just as they shone upon Gethsemane 

And watched the struggles of a Godlike soul. 
Now, from the far off heights they shone on him 
And saw the waves of anguish o’er him roll. 

The storm had come upon him unaware ; 

No thunder fell upon his ear, 

No cloud arose to tell him it was near; 

But under skies all sunlit and serene 
He floated with the current of the stream 

And thought life all one golden hallowed dream, 
When lo ! a hurricane, with awful force, 

Swept swiftly upon its devastating course, 
Wrecked his frail bark and cast him on the wave 
Where all his hopes had found a watery grave.” 

Pause long, fair girl, ere you accept the deepest 
tribute of a true man’s heart, for while there are 
countless triflers who forget ere the night wanes, 
tread with care, for there are those who give out 
their heart’s best affection at one shrine. 

Down at the settlement, Mr. Kingsley, too, 
watched the stars, gathering courage to live because 
of his duty to humanity, for “heroes dare to live, 
when all that makes life sweet is snatched away.” 


Chapter XXIV. 


Tom went bounding up the stairs with the center 
of his countenance so spotlessly clean that the most 
critically inclined would not have detected a speck 
of the earth earthy ; but as yet the bath was an 
innovation to poor Tom, and the dusky rim around 
the immaculate center, served to make the circum- 
ference look quite startling. 

The look of pleasure that shone in his face was 
touching to behold, as he bounded into the room 
with his provisions for the little wanderers. 

The empty room ! No children anywhere ! It 
was a sad blow to all his rosy hopes and castle 
building. 

‘‘Where kin they be? Has them blue coats got 
’em. Or their dad come and took ’em off? And I 
never got to kiss the little un after all my polish- 
ing !” This last thought seemed the most insup- 
portable of all. 

Tom sat down disconsolately and felt too badly 
to eat, hungry though he was. 

“Well, I’ll just bet VI l find them little cubs. I’ll 
hunt till I do !” and pocketing his groceries untasted 
he darted down the street, experiencing for the 
first time a keen loss. 

“They’re the cutest kids I ever see, and I don’t 
want nothin’ to happen ’em, ’specially that ere 
263 


264 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Dimple Dumpling. Couldn’t she smile? Never seed 
such a one ! My face hurts yet where I rubbed it 
to get it clean fer to kiss her, and I didn’t get 
none, and may be I never will!” 

At this doleful thought Tom sat down upon the 
sidewalk, but after a time the pangs of hunger 
forced him to console himself with the untasted 
supper. 

“It’s mighty hard on a feller to spend so much 
money as I did on two kids and git nothin’ out of 
it. I ain’t sorry as I knows on though ; glad I 
didn’t let ’em starve. I’ll be blest if that shall 
happen while I kin work.” With which noble reso- 
lution he wended his way toward the large box 
in a back alley where most of his nights were spent. 

One of the vast army of the city’s homeless. 
Naturally bright, already educated by the street 
life about him, will he become one of the criminals 
that infest the highways, imperil womanhood, and 
blight whatever he touches ? It is quite possible 
unless some helpful influence reaches him ere it 
is too late. 

He had heard coarse people talk of the city 
missions sneeringly, so Tom formed his opinions 
accordingly, and whenever he had been invited to 
attend some of their entertainments, shocked them 
by some rough or disdainful reply, so they 
had given him up as already a hardened wretch. 
But the touch of baby hands had awakened his 
nobler qualities and he needed but the right help 
to lift him to better things. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


265 


Trueman kept his promise and “looked in” next 
day. 

“Any news of your strays?” 

“Not a word. I believe something has happened 
the father. I think, from Jack’s story, that he was 
a good man, and has been injured or perhaps killed.” 

Then followed a description of Tom’s care of 
them. 

“I wish I could find that boy. He is a diamond 
in the rough. I would take especial interest in 
him for his kindness to my babies.” 

“So you are going to keep them?” 

“I shall for awhile. Jack calls you an angel, 
and says he loves us next to papa. Dimple is the 
dearest little lover you ever saw. She kisses and 
pats my face.” 

“Kingsley, I say it’s a shame for you to be with- 
out love, when I know of no man more worthy 
of it.” 

“Don’t!” responded his friend, in a tone of en- 
treaty, as though he could not bear the subject 
touched upon. “If it had been best, it would not 
have passed me by.” 

Trueman, so hapy in his home life, felt a keen 
sympathy for this noble man. 

“I cannot be satisfied about Kingsley. It don’t 
seem fair. I feel like doing something dark and 
desperate to that Richmond, exporting him to 
some remote isle,” Mr. Trueman soliloquized as 
he walked onward. 

When in sight of home, he heard a scream of 
delight. “Papa! papa!” and down the street came 


266 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


the laughing, dancing trio. Eleanor was carried 
in triumph, while the girls hung on to his coat 
and made his heart glad with their welcome. Inside 
the door, his Katherine waited, with the love light 
in her eyes. 

“Papa, Vera did the wickedest thing (this isn’t 
tattling, Ve, ’cause die that covereth his sins shall 
not prosper,’ and I don’t want you to cover yours, 
so I am just taking the lid off for you, see?) 
explained Gladys, apologetically to her sister, for 
tattling was strictly forbidden, but this bright 
child usually thought some way over or around 
prohibitions that ill suited her fancy. 

Papa laughed in spite of his effort to the con- 
trary. 

“Papa, listen to my tale of woe ere you banish 
me from the light of your presence.” Vera raised 
her finger to her cheek and with dancing eyes 
smiled at papa. 

“Well, well, where did you 
get that last remark?” 

“I heard mamma say some- 
thing like that,” responded 
Vera. 

“What have these young- 
sters been up to now, Kath- 
erine ?” 

“They shall do their own 
confessing ; I do not believe in 
tattling,” said Mrs. Trueman, 
in a low, quiet voice, with- 
out a glance in the direction of the small 
daughter, but the rebuke was felt and did its 
work. 



A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


267 


“Come here, Vera, and finish 'taking the lid 
off your sins/ ” 

Vera’s merry face sobered a little. She had been 
putting on a more cheerful front than she felt ; 
but always ready to brave the worst, she climbed 
to her father’s knee, as her mother and the chil- 
dren left the room. 

“You see, papa,” began the mischief, “I might 
as well make a plunge. I guess I’ll land some- 
where.” 

She was certainly an irresistibly winning little 
sinner. “You see, I wanted to be good and do a 
kind act, so I thought I would run down to old 
Mr. Grimes’ pasture and drive his cow home. I 
was on the way home from doing an errand. I 
never stopped to play a bit on the way, but coming 
back the flowers out in that pasture where old 
Brindle is, just called to me, so I forgot all about 
asking mamma till I was ’most there. Then I 
thought she would like it so much if I took her 
some flowers. So I just climbed over the fence 
and didn’t I have the nicest time ! I gave a wild 
Indian whoop of joy and gratitude, for papa, it 
feeled so good to get out in the almost country, 
and I played awhile, and then I saw Brindle and 
thought I would just save Mr. Grimes all that walk. 
So I turned her out and started her home. I had 
my arms and apron full of flowers and I thought 
how just like a story it would be if I could ride 
home, so I tried to get her to stop and let me 
get on, but she . only run. I caught hold of her 
tail and tried to climb up, but she kicked me off, 


268 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


though it didn’t hurt me a mite. At last I got 
her to eating grass and when she was real inter- 
ested, and standing near the fence, I climbed the 
fence and gave a spring right onto her back ; and 
do you believe it, that cow didn’t like it a bit! 
and just jumped right up! But I took hold of her 
horns and held on. She shook her head, but I 
held on tight and talked to her nice until she was 
kind of still and used to me. Then I rode on until 
I met a buggy full of ladies, and they laughed and 
laughed as far as they could see me. But I didn’t 
care much until a horrid boy came out and threw 
a clod at Brindle and she got scared and run 
home fast, and shook me awful. And do you 
believe it, after all those trials, Mr. Grimes never 
thanked me a bit, but looked real cross when he 
saw me riding in. And I lost all my flowers, and 
mamma was frightened looking for me, and said 
I disobeyed in going without leave. So I had a 
terrible time !” added the culprit, trying to work 
upon her father’s sympathy. 

“Was that all, or only one of the bad things 
you did this day ?” asked her father, who was strug- 
gling to conquer his propensity to smile at the 
recital. 

“That was one,” answered honest Vera. “An- 
other was, I got terribly thirsty after that long 
walk, and so — and so, after I picked the flowers, 
I just milked the cow !” 

“How did you drink without a cup?” 

“I found a big burdock leaf and made a little cup 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


269 


and milked into that, and as fast I drinked it up, 
I milked some more, till I had a plenty.” 

The invention was certainly unique. 

“But, Vera, wasn’t that taking something that 
didn’t belong to you?” 

“Why, n — o. Was it, really, papa?” 

A sober talk followed in which the mischief -did 
some serious reflecting, so that not once during the 
dinner hour were her bright sallies of wit heard. 

That evening a family consultation was held as 
to the best method of correcting this tomboy, and 
it was decided that Vera must go alone and apolo- 
gize to Mr. Grimes for the liberty she had taken. 
Also that she must confess to him that she milked 
the cow. Not that the little she had secured would 
amount to much, but to impress her with the moral 
side of the question, that she had no right to tam- 
per with other people’s property. 

“O mamma ! Must I tell him about the milk ?” 
entreated Vera, next day, as mamma put her hat 
on and started her on the odious errand. 

“Certainly, Vera. Do you think if we are not 
honest in little things we can be trusted with 
greater ?” 

“N — o,” was the doleful response. 

Gladys had heard the conversation and was all 
sympathy with her sister. She put her hat on and 
slipped out after her. “Never mind, Ve, I’ll go with 
you.” She slid her hand in hers comfortingly. 
“Will you? You are a little — ” 

“Duck?” suggested Gladys. 

“Well, no! You don’t waddle, but you’re a nice 


270 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


little bird any way. I don’t know the kind, but 
it’s the best of them all.” 

Gladys gave her hand an affectionate squeeze, 
for this was a great compliment for Vera to bestow. 

Mamma looked out of the 
window and saw the picture. 

“Dear little Gladys ! She is 
going to act as prop to her 
naughty sister, but -I fear I 
must deprive Vera of any- 
one to lean upon. Gladys!” 
called mamma. “ I want 
you ! ” 

Gladys came back, loyal to 
her mother’s commands, but longing to help her 
sister. 

Vera heaved one sigh, then accepting the inev- 
itable, made up her mind to plunge in and make 
the best of it. 

Mr. Grimes was at work in the yard and did 
not see her approach until she stood in front of 
him. 

“Well! well! So you are the young lady who 
used my cow so roughly last night?” he said, look- 
ing at her quite sternly. 

“No, sir, you are mistaken. She used me 
roughly.” 

A very pointed beginning, the humor of which 
pleased the old gentleman, who, however, betrayed 
no change of countenance. 

“You see, Mr. Grimes, you didn’t give me a 
chance to explain last night. I really intended to 



A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


271 


do you a kindness and save you that long walk. I 
never thought about riding her till I got started. 
Then something inside of me wanted some fun 
and I up and did it before I thought. And if you 
only knew the troubles I’ve had, you wouldn’t be too 
hard upon my sins, because really your cow didn’t 
treat me real nice. Still, I don’t lay it up against 
her a bit, because I suppose she is ladylike and 
gentle enough when she isn’t so surprised, as I 
do suppose she was, when I lit on her back so kind 
of sudden and unexpected like. She kicked me 
hard when I hung on to her tail, too; but then, 
I’m not talking against your cow, you know, Mr. 
Grimes,’ she added politely, “but just telling you 
how it was. Mamma said I must tell you every- 
thing, and so here it goes. Maybe you better sit 
down, Mr. Grimes. It’s a pretty long story.” 

The old gentleman had never met such an ori- 
ginal little piece of humanity. He was chuckling 
inside, but outwardly as grim as his name. He 
sat down, stealing now and then a sly look of inter- 
est at the small lady. 

“You see, I’m not a good child. I do naughty 
things all the time, and my mamma and papa get 
dreadfully discouraged raising me. But I really 
don’t mean to be bad. But something makes me 
do it quick, and then, I’m awful sorry 
for a little while; but the sorry don’t stay long- 
enough. It flies away and then I’m bad again. 
Mr. Grimes, were you ever bad when you were 
a boy?” 


272 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Mr. Grimes, drawn irresistibly to the small sin- 
ner, nodded affirmatively. 

“O goody! I’m so glad you know how it feels, 
for you won’t mind so much about — about the 
milk,” hesitated Vera, dreading the last revelation. 

“About what milk?” queried Mr. .Grimes, his 
eyes smiling now in spite of himself. 

“Why, why, you see — that is — when you were a 
little boy, Mr. Grimes, and took long walks, and 
were very warm, do you remember that you were 
pretty thirsty sometimes?” 

Mr. Grimes nodded. 

Vera, beginning to feel a kinship of sympathy, 
continued: “Didn’t it feel good, then, to get a 
drink?” 

Another nod. Vera, encouraged but blushing. 
“Those were good times when you were young, 
weren’t they, Mr. Grimes?” 

Mr. Grimes struggled with an internal laugh. 

“I’ve heard my grandfather say, ‘Those were 
good old days’ !” mused Vera, “but I haven’t told 
you the worst yet. It’s nothing against my fam- 
ily, sir. They are very honest and never let us 
play hooky or anything like that,’ added the culprit, 
thinking suddenly with consternation of the reflec- 
tion the milk deal might cast upon the family name. 

“It’s the first time I ever took anything that 
didn’t belong to me, except when Gladys and I 
took the fish out of the pantry at Mansie’s and took 
them to the pond and fished with them. Did you 
ever fish with crooked pins and a stick, Mr. 
Grimes ?” 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


273 


Vera saw that the inevitable was upon her, so 
she made her last leap. “You see, I was warm and 
thirsty, and I never thought it wasn’t honest to 
get a drink from a cow that didn’t belong to you ; 
so I just milked her!” 

Stern old Mr. Grimes broad smile relaxed into 
a loud laugh, so long and hearty that his wife 
looked out of the window in surprise. 

“Come out here, Jane, and tell me what to do 
with this little miss.” 

Vera looked askance at the approaching figure. 
She felt she had conquered thus far, but she knew 
not of the evils yet to come. 

Mr. Grimes gave an abbreviated history of the 
cow episode. Mrs. Grimes, less austere than her 
husban'd, led the small girl into the roomy kitchen. 
She disappeared only to reappear with a glass of 
creamy milk and a plump doughnut. 

“Here, sis. A little girl who has experienced 
such trials as you have, needs something to prop 
her up.” 

“But, Mrs. Grimes, you musn’t give me the 
milk, because I’ve no right to it, since I took it 
without leave. But I would like to have it so well !” 
Vera was looking longingly at the refreshments. 
“Do you suppose that if I was walking by here 
some future day, a* long time after, you. know, 
when I’ve been punished enough, do you think I 
might have some then ?” 

Who could have resisted this appeal? Surely 
not motherly Mrs. Grimes, who hungered for some 
one to pet and spoil. 


274 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“Bless your heart!” laughed Mrs. Grimes. “You 
shall have all the milk and doughnuts you want 
every time you will come.” 

“But my mamma won’t let me come, I fear.” 

“Oh, I guess she will all right,” said Mr. Grimes, 
who had come in just as she refused the milk. 

“It’s a lucky thing for you that you didn’t get 
the daylight kicked out of you. So I guess we’ll 
call it square this time.” 

“No, my papa said I must take my money and 
pay up fair. How much is it, Mr. Grimes?” 

“Well, how much do you reckon you got?” 

“I think I had the burdock leaf full six times, 
but it’s awful hard to milk, isn’t it? It made my 
hand ache. How much will six burdock leaves 
full of milk be?” 

Mrs. Grimes laughed. “Oh, never mind a few 
drops like that. We aint so stingy as that comes to.” 

“But I have to do it. So here’s my money. I’ve 
a whole dime, a nickle, and three pennies. I earned 
the money for the missionaries over the sea, who 
have terrible times with those heathen. So I guess 
you hadn’t better take the pennies. And the dime 
I worked awful hard to get helping Elsie one day 
when the birds and bees were calling to me. I 
stayed in the house four hours by standard time, 
and only did one bad deed in all that while, so I 
hate to part with that dime ! Will the nickle be 
plenty? I had a good many drinks, you know, and 
papa said I must pay up fair and square.” 

“Well, may be that’s a little too much for six 
drinks out of a burdock leaf. But then, you see 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


275 


you got Brinclle so excited we didn’t get so much 
milk as usual. I guess that’s fair all round. Think 
so, ma?” 

Mrs. Grimes nodded. 

“I don’t know as I said Tm sorry.’ I was real 
sorry awhile when the cow shook me, and I ached 
so, and when papa said it wasn’t right, and mamma 
looked discouraged. But since I’ve had such a 
nice time, I felt the sorry fly away. But I hope 
you will excuse me for making Brindle excited, 
and — and if they will let me, I’ll walk by here 
some day and talk to you over the fence, Mr. 
Grimes.” 

“Glad to have you any time. We’ll be on the look- 
out for you. Mother here will be tickled to have 
you come and see her.” 

“Good-day, Mrs. Grimes. I hope we will always 
be friends and I will try to come up this way as 
often as possible,” she said, giving a last regretful 
look at the doug'hnuts. 

Vera sped up the street, having spent the entire 
forenoon over her confession, with the result given, 
that instead of impressing her with the need of 
reformation, she had captivated her audience and 
gone home with flying colors. 

No wonder her mother sighed over the seeming 
failure of the punishment. Yet it did not wholly 
fail. Vera was impressed with the fact that she 
must not meddle with others’ property and the 
lesson lasted throughout life. 


Chapter XXXV. 


After Dorothea’s visit at the Alexander home, 
she became an ever welcome guest, Mr. Alexander 
finding much pleasure in entertaining her with 
stories of her father’s boyhood. Lora adored her, 
and Mrs. Alexander found her an acquisition to 
her social functions, to which her sparkling wit 
added fresh zest. 

In fact, Mrs. Alexander was so pleased with the 
bright girl, that she wished to attach her to their 
party when they went away for the summer ; but 
Dorothy, true to her inner nature, was not sorry 
to decline their kindness and hie away to the broad 
prairies of the West, where her father, one of 
Nature’s own nobleman, was waiting at the little 
country station to welcome her. 

As they drove along the country road and she 
saw* the dear old landmarks of her childhood, the 
old home looming up, and mother in the doorway, 
her heart bounded. 

She returned the same merry girl, outwardly at 
least. Contact with the world had not taken from 
her the fresh wholesome nature. She was still the 
wild rose of the prairie, where her childhood and 
early girlhood had been spent. 

She was now like a bird set free, and certainly 
276 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


277 


never prisoner in cell had chafed more than she 
under the restraints of city life. 

Now the welcome home to the old free life, 
the love lit eyes of the home circle, the pride that 
beamed in every glance at her quick wit, made her 
appreciate the old home as never before. 

“Dolly has come !” screamed her little nieces, 
as they announced the news to the surrounding 
neighborhood, who needed not the information, for 
had they not been counting the weeks until this 
great event should take place? 

The return of the merry girl was a great treat, 
although her escapades from childhood had caused 
them to shake their heads. At the same time they 
felt a fondness for her that nothing could change. 

“I du hope Dolly won’t get spoiled up there 
mixin’ with them city folks,” said a neighbor to 
her husband. 

The good old farmer cast a look of indignation 
at his spouse, as he ejaculated : “Du you think 
Dolly is the kind to git stuck up and put on airs? 
I should say not!” he added warmly. “I haven’t 
seen that child grow up from a toddler and trotted 
her on my knee, not to know her better’n that. 
She’ll come baek the same open-hearted girl, or my 
name aint Johnson.” 

“I aint so sure,” replied his better half. “Them 
city folks are mighty stuck up. ’T wouldn’t be sur- 
prising if she’d catch some of their notions.” 

“I tell you, Dolly will be. just as glad to see plain 
old John Johnson as she ever was!” 

Mother Johnson “hoped so,” but in her heart 


278 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


she was skeptical, and it must be confessed rather 
in awe of the city damsel. 

How delighted Uncle John looked a few minutes 
later when Miss Dolly rushed in. With what an 
air of .superior wisdom did he look at his faithful 
partner. 

Ma Johnson hadn’t time to get a clean apron on. 

“I couldn’t wait till morning, Ma Johnson, but 
just run right over to say, ‘Howdy !’ Well, Uncle 
John, how are you?” giving the old farmer a cor- 
dial handshake. “You’re looking real clipper. 
Where’s Tim?” 

Now Tim was the only son of his mother, and 
while not a widow, still fonder maternal love 
could not have been set upon fair youth, than Mrs. 
Johnson lavished upon the ungainly freckled face 
lad who was the butt of the school. 

Dorothy had taught the country school before 
leaving for college, and spent hours helping Tim 
try to master some of the intricacies of knowledge, 
and his respect for her was unbounded. He had 
heard her well remembered voice and slunk up 
close to the window, too bashful to come nearer. 
As he heard her mention himself, he blushed to 
the roots of his hair. 

After a brief call, during which Dorothy enter- 
tained them with some amusing accounts of city 
life, of her first ludicrous experience in talking 
through the mail box instead of the tube, 
she departed leaving them shaking with laughter, 
while Mr. Johnson turned to his wife with triumph 
lighting up every feature, enjoying to the full the 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


279 


bliss of ‘I told you so!’ “What did I tell you, 
Sallie, ain’t she the same girl she alius was? I 
guess I knowed a thing or two. That girl’s got 
the right stuff in her. I seed that 'when I trotted 
her around the farm. Can’t spile her ” 

Mrs. Johnson agreed with him in her heart, but 
it would never do to let him have the pleasure 
of knowing it. So she went out to see about the 
milk, banging the door. “Men do think that they 
are so eternal smart ! Dolly’s all right, though, and 
I’m right glad on it. Why didn’t you come in and 
see her, Tim? She’s the same as ever. Not a mite 
stuck up. Didn’t look a bit too citified for country 
folks. She asked about you first thing.” 

Tim turned his back to hide his grin of pleasure. 

“If I was in your place I wouldn’t go with that 
feller down there. I don’t think she’d like it,” Mrs. 
Johnson added adroitly. 

“What do I care what she likes?” grunted Tim, 
as he slid away. But just the same he gave “the 
feller” the slip that night, and crept up to his attic 
bedroom unobserved by his anxious mother. He 
wouldn’t have her know for the world that Miss 
Dorothy had influenced him. Not he! 

At the old home, even the inanimate things took 
on new life with the superabundant spirits of the 
girl who made everything radiant about her. The 
house rang with laughter as Dolly related her ini- 
tiation into the ways of city life. 

One day she had stolen away to one of her 
Nature haunts to commune with solitude. After 
a time her little niece, Miss Helen, discovered her 


280 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


and ran to her with a bundle of letters. One was 
from Eldah announcing the broken engagement. 
Dorothea was so excited over it she hardly noticed 
her other letters. After reading and re-reading 
Eldah’s letter, she turned to the rest. Several were 
from the girls, pleasant newsy ones. Lastly she 
opened one addressed in a stranger’s hand, thinking 
it some business connected with the college paper. 
Her surprise was great when she discovered it 
was from Mr. Bertram Templeton, asking the pleas- 
ure of a correspondence with her. 

Dorothy was popular with the opposite sex, but 
so far she had never abused her power. “He is 
handsome,” she mused. “I think he is the most 
attractive man I have met for some time. Yes, 
I believe I will enjoy a contest of wit. It sharpens 
one’s intellect. I will try his mental caliber and 
see if it’s worth while.” 

Therefore Mr. Bertram Templeton was a very 
happy man a week later, when a most characteristic 
note was handed him. “She is not like any other 
girl I know, but is ever showing some new phase 
of character. I believe she is the embodiment of 
perversity, but so confoundedly interesting.” 

Summer sped away, and the dear old home with 
its appreciative hearts had to be left behind. 

Dorothea strolled out by herself the last day, and 
had a grand time with solitude. 

“I will take some of your sturdy strength, old 
oak, back to the strenuous life of the city. It will 
steady me when I am wavering, and make me 
dauntless when needful,” she said, as she clasped 






282 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


her arms about her favorite tree. “And thou, dear 
brooklet, laughing over your pebbles so merrily, 
I will remember your cheery song, and may hap 
under its inspiration, I can sing myself up the 
hillside of Hope, when despair would otherwise 
hamper me. And dear little bird, I will emulate 
your flight into the realm of knowledege.” Stoop- 
ing she picked a tiny flower. “And little flower, 
I will seek to remain as pure and sweet in all the 
dust and grime of city life, as you are here in your 
mossy dell.” 

Dorothea could not have uttered these thoughts 
to another soul. Nature she loved, and her real 
hidden self opened up when alone. She was sur- 
prised at these strange soul depths, this girl who 
was ever at strife with herself and whose heart 
was a perpetual battle ground. Her higher feel- 
ings struggled for expression, but an iron reserve 
held her silent. Nature quieted this high-spirited 
girl as nothing else had power to do. 

“I am so glad about Eldah and Mr. Kingsley ! 
They belong together, and it is a relief in this 
day and generation to see the right people mated. 
I wonder if — ” She stopped, and not even mother 
Nature was entrusted with her secret thought. 


Chapter XXXVI. 


“Come again and greet me as a friend, fellow pilgrims 
upon life’s highway; 

Leave awhile the hot and dusty road to loiter in the green- 
wood of Reflection. 

Come into my cool, dim grotto, that is watered by the 
rivulet of Truth, 

And over whose time stained rocks climb the fairy flowers 
of content. 

Here upon this mossy bank of leisure fling thy load of 
cares; 

Taste my simple store and rest for one soothing hour.’’ 

“I am in this nook because a Higher Will placed 
me here. I did not know I was being led to this 
shady dell on the upland slope. Its beauty is a 
' sweet surprise. The way hither was not an easy 
route. I stumbled oft, became footsore and weary, 
but still I was urged onward. 

The path deviated, winding, apparently ending 
abruptly, a wall barricading the passage; but al- 
ways when reached, some aperture was disclosed 
and a way through discovered. Still the path led 
onward, now by still waters, though the next turn 
and I was confronted by a raging sea, the waves 
dashed in fury against the rocks, no retracing of 
step possible, yet I dared not place my foot upon 
that wave ; surely ’twould be but madness ! I must 
turn back! “No!” a Voice commands. “Still must 
thou on , until I bid thee stop ” 

283 


284 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Terror that amounted almost to frenzy of soul, 
seized me. 

“Pray annul that stern decree,” I entreated. 
“’Twere utter folly to venture upon that tempestu- 
ous sea.” 

“Thou must ” a firm yet gentle Voice replied. 
And sweeter than human melody was chanted over 
me, “Still, still, I am with thee. My promise shall 
stand. Through tempest and tossing I’ll bring thee 
to landT 

Closing my eyes and listening to the heavenly 
music, I ventured to dip one foot into the water 
that broke into foam wreaths about me. Strange ! 
I was not sinking. Still fearing to open my eyes, 
I felt borne onward accompanied by the sensation 
of safety. 

Can it be I am walking the waves as one I read 
of in the long ago at mother’s knee? 

Will I, like Peter, soon begin to sink? 

Then my eyelids unclosed, and what transforma- 
tion met my astonished view ! Surely I had been 
dreaming. But no. Consciousness had not failed 
me, though in place of the stormy water, the 
waves had receded and revealed a walk by the 
shore, where the exhilarating breath of the ocean 
fanned my fevered brow. 

A charming path soon came into view, and I fol- 
lowed it up the rugged blult until I discovered this 
cool grotto. ’Tis like the aftermath of life, the 
escape of the soul from its bodily environments into 
peace and uplift. 

Yet every step of the way I contended with the 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


285 


guiding- Hand. Oft rebelling, and yielding only 
when circumstances forced me into acquiesence. 

Is it worth while to resist longer the Higher 
Will?” 

Mr. Alexander stretched himself at full length 
in his leafy nook, a tiny brooklet murmured mu- 
sically as it hastened downward to fling its fond 
heart in the heart of the sea. The squirrels and 
sly little chipmunks ventured quite near him, while 
the birds warbled about him. 

What is the meaning of it all, the complex riddle 
called Life? 

I, a responsible being, placed here through no 
will of my own, yet with the power of volition. 

Oh, that I had the pure faith of rugged Whit- 
tier, when he says: 

“I know not what the future hath, of marvel or 
surprise, 

Assured alone that life and death His mercy under- 
lies.” 

Must I to the end be tossed as the seaweed 
upon the beach? Borne onward by a force that 
is so tremendous, so awe inspiring, so — magnifi- 
cent, that my strength is but puny as an infant’s, 
contending against one so mighty, so superior, that 
it must succumb in the end? 

Whittier’s thought has been borne in upon me 
again and again of late, like the endless chant of 
yonder ocean. It seems to have a message for me 
as did that one strain of a song. Is it possible in 


286 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


the deep recesses of my being a desire is silently 
forming which those lines express? Shall this rest- 
less, battling heart here attain serenity and trust? 

And is there a happier spot where mortal man 
may find the bliss for which he sighs?” 

A great yearning filled his heart and crept up 
into the windows of his soul. Every line ^betrayed 
the storm tossed nature hemmed in by its environ- 
ment. 

“Will there, oh will there be another chance to 
reach the noble woman’s soul and yield her what 
all this time I have wrongfully given another? 

There she is upon her mount of vision, white 
of soul and life, mingling with those beneath her, 
inspiring, lifting, loving. Yet upon this very night, 
twenty years ago, I turned aside from the true 
affinity of my soul, led on by the dazzle and shine 
of another. Not once have I looked into those 
eyes, only as I see them in my visions and dreams, 
but all these years in this little note book, now 
worn by the flight of time, is this that she gave 
me at the parting of the ways. 

Why, why was I so hopelessly dense as to fail 
to appreciate her nobility of soul, and see how it 
infinitely outweighed mere beauty of face and 
figure? I see her now as she commanded back the 
feeling that surged within, and said with sublime 
control: ‘Take it, Alex; ’tis my parting gift. I 
would that I might bequeath you the same faith.’ 
Then she read from the note book: 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


287 


‘And so beside the Silent Sea I wait the muffled oar, 
No harm from Him can come to me, on ocean or 
on shore.’ 

Turning from me with the trustful look of a child, 
— yet the courage of a noble woman, who at the 
very moment of relinquishing her dearest hopes, 
and with slowly breaking heart, yet dares to cast 
herself into the arms of a Higher Will — she added 
in a voice of such thrilling sweetness it pulsates 
through my being still down all these years : “I 
know not where His islands lift their fronded palms 
in air. I only knozv I cannot drift beyond His love 
and care ” 

And turning her gaze seaward, she seemed to 
bury all her dreams there, and then vanished up 
the path. 

And I allowed this rare soul to pass from me ! 

All these years I have struggled to be true to 
my vows. I believe I have been, even though the 
battle has been fierce at times. But to-night a 
strange quietness ensues. The stress seems for the 
moment lifted. Is it the escape of the soul at last 
into the borderland of rest? Shall I, too, find at 
last the peace and trust that has upheld her all 
these years?” 

* * * * 

“O ! I’ve found papa! I see his fishing rod and 
hat ! Come on !” shouted Thad, as he bounded up 
the steep, followed by Lora and Marshall Allen. 
“Here he is !” bursting into the bower with boyish 
enthusiasm, and giving his father a bear-like em- 


288 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


brace, for these two had developed a close and 
dear friendship. 

“O papa! If you only could have seen Marshall 
teach me to swim. I can do it splendidly, and he 
is going to show me how to row sometime. Papa, 
do please come down on the beach and watch me.” 

Just then the others reached the Retreat. 

“How very beautiful !” exclaimed Lora. “How 
did you discover it, papa?” 

“It was an accident, Lora — or was it,” he added 
under his breath — “a real guidance?” 

Marshall and Thad had gone on for a merry 
scramble still farther up the bluff. 

A year had elapsed since Marshall’s change of 
fortune had begun, during which time Mr. Alex- 
ander had promoted him twice. 

Thad’s advancement was a great comfort to Lora 
and her father. 

“Papa, I think there must be a Higher Power 
to guide, don’t you? Because certainly Marshall 
Allen was sent us to influence Thad just when we 
felt so discouraged about him. Do you know I 
would just love to know Marshall’s mother, and 
I don’t believe I would mind being poor a bit, if 
I could be such a woman as she is. He was telling 
me about her just now. I wish the young men out 
in society were like him,” she said, in the most 
artless, childlike manner, “but there’s Mr. Topple- 
tou, who calls so often, I get so tired of his vapid 
talk; and Mr. Decker is just as insipid, while that 
so-called irresistible Mr. Noman, is the worst bore 
of all. I like people to be real and sincere.” 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


289 


Mr. Alexander sat up and looked at his daughter 
with a new light in his eyes. 

Was his idol beginning to think of and compare 
those of the opposite sex? 

He had regarded her as still a child, and there 
she sat in the early dawn of young womanhood, 
discerning the difference between true worth and 
foppery. 

“Why do you look at me that way, papa?” 

“I was thinking my little girl will soon be a 
young lady,” he said, with a sigh. 

“Well, papa, is it so deplorable a thing that you 
should look so doleful?” 

“Yes, and no; but it is a hard thing to be a 
woman, Lora, and I want to shield you as long 
as possible.” 

“I feel it must be hard, for girlhood is not easy.” 

She, the banker’s daughter, could say that, with 
the shelter of her father’s love about her and all 
that wealth and culture could bestow. 

The thought brought her father pain. Why 
should this cherished child find what should be an 
easy, happy period in her life, hard? 

Ah, because of his mistake in not giving her the 
inalienable right of every unborn being, the right 
to a true mother to understand and counsel at 
every turn of life’s pathway. He strove to be all 
to her, but it was natural that she should miss 
something. 

The equilateral triangle best typifies the real mar- 
riage. With either side left open there can but 
be a void. 


290 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“Lora, when men follow the dictates of their 
hearts and consciences, rather than blind passion 
for a handsome face and form ; when girls choose 
true nobility regardless of high position or wealth, 
then there will not be so many mistakes and so 
much heart hunger in the world. But, my Sweet, 
we must not spoil this beautiful present with such 
sad thoughts. You are the very flower of my life. 
I am happy with you ; kiss me and tell me you 
forgive your father for not making your girlhood 
easier,” he said, with deeper meaning than the girl 
caught. 

“Papa Alexander! As if I ever have anything 
to forgive in the kindest and best father any girl 
ever had.” 

Just then Marshall and Thad reappeared laden 
with woodland treasures. 

“Miss Alexander, I fancied you might like these,” 
he said, with modest deference, placing some wild 
lilies of the valley and maiden hair ferns in her 
hands. 

“Indeed I do ! What rare, dainty things.” 

“I found them growing profusely and I wish 
that you and Mr. Alexander would climb to the 
summit and gain the outlook. I named it ‘Inspira- 
tion Point,’ for it reminded me of something father 
used to read to us.” 

“Tell us of it, Marshall,” responded Mr. Alexan- 
der, much interested. 

A mother and her boy visited a friend who lived 
among wildly picturesque scenery. The boy, disin- 
clined to leave the enchanting out of doors, re- 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


291 


mained upon the lawn and became quite interested 
in a pretty pet lamb which was fastened by a cord. 
Thoughtlessly he loosened the tether, and away the 
lamb bounded up the mountain steep, the tinkle of 
his bell and his snowy coat, revealing him springing 
on from height to height. After him went the boy, 
enjoying the merry chase. At last the lamb stum- 
bled, and the lad reached the cord and bound him 
to his wrist, while boy and lamb sank exhausted 
upon the summit of the mountain. After a few 
moments rest, the lad arose and gazed amazed, and 
overcome by the scene before him. It was then 
that ‘he felt the very bud of being in him burst 
to the full unfolding petals of a man.’ Strangely 
his heart throbbed, with keenest rapture. He had 
been led up the mountain steep by a guileless lamb 
and found himself! In that moment — so the story 
goes — he ceased to be a boy, and became in will 
and purpose a man. 

When he returned to the cottage, he told with 
great enthusiasm of the chase, and with strange 
power described the scene, with all a poet’s glowing 
tributes. His mother looked at him with surprise 
and pride, then pushing back with fond hand the 
damp curls from his brow, said: ‘My Paul has 
climbed today the noblest height in all his little 
world, and may he always remember that to the 
grandest spot that ere his youthful feet have trod, 
he has been guided by a guileless lamb. ’Tis an 
omen that his mother’s heart will treasure with her 
jewels.’ 

“It all came back to me as I stood there.” 


292 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 

Marshall was usually very reserved about utter- 
ing what he felt, but these three seemed to under- 
stand him, so it came easily. 

Mr. Alexander was the first to break the silence. 
“My boy,” he placed his hand affectionately upon 
his shoulder, “you found yourself today upon yon- 
der summit, and I have but one regret, which is 
purely selfish. I trust in the discovery of the deeper 
powers of your manhood, you will not feel called 
to other lines of work, and sever our connection.” 

“Thank you, Mr. Alexander. No, I only awak- 
ened to a sudden consciousness that there is a depth 
within me, and a power of appreciation that I knew 
not of. Mother used to say of manhood’s estate, 
‘’Tis holy ground, tread it sacredly,’ and I think 
the scene today will never be forgotten, for it 
seemed baptized with beauty and as if I were indeed 
upon a consecrated spot.” 

Mr. Alexander gave the boy’s hand a warm pres- 
sure. “I saw it in your eyes when you returned 
to us, and I believe you will indeed arrive at the 
dignity of manhood without the stains that soil so 
many young men.” 

Marshall listened modestly. “I did not mean to 
talk so much of myself. Pardon me. Come on, 
Thad,” and the newly acquired dignity seemed to 
vanish, as he went whistling down the path hand 
in hand with the boy. 

Lora said never a word, but deep appreciation 
shone in her eyes. 

“Come, ‘Heart’s Sunshine,’ we must return to 
the hotel in time to dress for dinner, so that we 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


293 


will not disgrace mamma and her guests with our 
present appearance.” 

“O, I hate hotels and society chatter! I just love 
to wander like a wood nymph in these sylvan spots. 
Don’t you, papa?” 

“Indeed I do, my love, but we cannot disgrace 
our social position ; so farewell tranquility and com- 
fort ! We must seek the small talk around the 
fashionable table, and the society of the four hun- 
dred, rather than the bliss and beauty of thyself, 
O mother Nature!” 

“And the man of the world had gone back to 
the world.” 


Chapter XXXVII. 


The sunlight filtered through the shady yard of 
Eldah’s home, making many pleasing effects in 
light and shade. 

Eldah was on the lawn in her white morning 
dress, engaged in her favorite occupation, the 
study of plant life. 

In the large room under the oaks, she drank 
in great draughts of inspiration from the blue of 
heaven and the myriads of leaves above her. 

She had lost the weary look of the past months 
and seemed almost the Eldahrema of other days, 
although it is not possible to remain the same as we 
pass through trying ordeals. The experiences of 
life do not leave us where they find us. Something 
deeper comes into our character resultant from a 
decision for the right, so Eldah looked stronger for 
the contest she had waged, and the very pose of 
her head showed forth the noble woman, who had 
braved that dreaded foe, public opinion, and 
scorned mere social position, that she might be 
true to her higher self. 

She seemed more earnest and purposeful, bent 
upon giving the world her best and enlarging her 
own horizon daily. 

Her study was brought to an abrupt close by 
a telephone message. 


294 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


295 


“You are wanted immediately at the department 
store of Boyer & Company,” said an unknown 
voice. ' 

Greatly puzzled, but obedient to the demand, she 
hastily dressed in street costume and was soon on 
her way. 

Upon her arrival at the store she was met by 
Myrtelius, who looked flurried and anxious. 

“What is it? I am being- consumed with curiosity. 
You look positively frightened.” 

“I am, for it is the most dreadful of all awful 
things I ever heard of ! We are in for it now.” 

“Come upstairs. I cannot talk here, and I’m stiff 
with horror. O, Eldah ! You cannot think how 
nearly we lost Marion.” 

This from Myrtelius, who was least interested of 
all in their charge. 

Eldah followed the excited girl, trying to find 
out the trouble from her incoherent explanation. 

“Let us go to the waiting room, Myrtelius, and 
you tell me about it.” 

“No, we must not be seen together, and this is 
the worst place for such a thing to happen ! Dear 
me, I don’t know what we are* to do!” 

“Myrtelius, if you don’t tell me what ails you 
and Marion, I’ll leave you this minute ! Tell me 
quickly what has happened. Has the child been 
run over, and where is she?” 

“O it’s worse than that ! I’m taking you to her.” 

Myrtelius led the way to a somewhat obscure 
corner of the store, and from behind a counter piled 
high with goods, Marion sprang out and threw her- 


296 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


self into Eldah’s arms, sobbing and clinging to her 
in the most hysterical manner. 

“Marion dear, be still, and tell me what is the 
matter. Myrtelius, you seem as excited as the 
child herself.” 

“Marion, I’ve told you that you must not make 
a scene here in public,” said Myrtelius, quite 
sternly, “or you will get us all into trouble. Eldah, 
we must hide her at once and I’ll tell you after- 
ward. Where shall we take her? Not to your home, 
for that will be where they will look first.” 

Through Eldah’s mind with intuitive quickness 
was flashed: “To Mrs. Fletcher’s!”. 

So without waiting a moment she telephoned her 
friend, who replied to bring her at once. She called 
a carriage and away went the two girls with the 
child, Marion clinging to Eldah’s hand and shiv- 
ering from head to foot from intense fright. 

“Has anyone hurt you, Marion?” Eldah looked 
anxiously down into the child’s flushed and tear- 
stained face. 

“O Miss Homesworth ! He almost got me, and 
his eyes looked like hot coals. Ma shut me in a 
room and locked the door. It was down stairs. I 
jumped out of the window and ran and ran to get 
away, and to find you, and Miss Myrtelius saw me 
running and took me into the store. But O, Miss 
Homesworth, don’t ever let them see me or ma’ll 
kill me! And he — I hate him! I could kill him, I 
could !” 

Intense loathing filled the child’s eyes as she 
poured forth this cruel tale. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


297 


A mother, say, rather, a creature, selling an inno- 
cent child for base coin ! 

When womanhood descends to this level, the out- 
look is most ominous. 

A child sold at noonday ! Basely betrayed into 
the hands of sinners. Aye, at midnight, at cock 
crowing, and, alas, alas, at every hour of day and 
night, innocent children, youths and maidens, de- 
coyed, lured, and enticed into the lowest depths of 
hell ! Here in this ‘home of the free ! Here in our 
Christian land, here within a stone’s throw of the 
churches, while the sun shines brightly on, and 
plays over the lawns where your happy little ones 
flit gaily about, somebody’s child is going down, 
down, down ! 

Eldah gathered the frightened little girl in her 
arms and held her tenderly, while her heart beat 
high with indignation. 

“You will never, never let me go again, will you, 
Miss Homesworth?” 

“No, indeed, Marion. I will protect you with my 
own life, if need be.” 

Mrs. Fletcher was aghast at the dreadful tale 
and gladly promised shelter until further arrange- 
ments could be made. So the girls felt grateful 
they could leave her temporarily safe. 

“What ever shall we do, Eldah?” Myrtelius asked 
so earnestly, that Eldah smiled, grave as the situ- 
ation was, for Myrtelius had opposed their caring 
for the child, and now she had been party to the 
kidnapping. 

“I don’t know yet, but the way will open. I 


298 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


wish Dorothea could come. She always thinks of 
a way out of difficulties. Marion’s people will miss 
her, and what shall I do if they come to me?” 

“I think I had better telephone Dorothy to stay 
all night with you, and then if they should go to 
your house, let her go to the door. We will not 
tell her where she is, and she has not seen her, 
she can handle them, if anyone can.” 

In due time Dorothy arrived, brimming over 
with indignation. 

Hardly had she laid aside her wraps when they 
were startled by the violent ringing of the bell, 
and a wild-eyed man, disreputable in the extreme, 
stood there, looking revengeful enough to cower 
almost anyone but Miss Dorothy. 

“Is that ere gal of mine here? She’s run away 
and we thought ’most likely she lit out fur here, 
as she was alius talking about her blessed angel. 
Now, I jes tell you, if that ere gal is here, and 
you don’t give her up to me, I’ll have you arrested 
for kidnapping. I will, pon my honor ! Is she here ?” 

“No, sir, she is not here and has not been !” 

“Haint you seen her no place?” 

“No, sir, I have not seen your daughter for 
weeks.” 

“Well, I’ll be blest if I didn’t think she’d make 
tracks right fur here. I do wonder where the little 
imp has gone, anyway?” 

He shuffled down the walk and Dorothy returned 
triumphantly to the excited family. 

“That was a bright idea of Myrtelius to have 
you come. What ever should I have done? I could 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


299 


not have stood there and looked innocent. That 
awful man ! Her father shall never get her, if he 
walks over my dead body!” 

“And over mine, too,” added Dorothy, sternly. 

“If you could have seen her cling to me, Dor- 
othy j” 

“I am glad I did not, or I should have shot him 
on the spot. It was all I could do to keep from 
throwing him down the stairs.” 

“But we must be controlled and not arouse their 
ill will. I hope no one noticed us get into the 
cab. It was a bold kidnapping at noon in the most 
fashionable store in the city.” 

“I don’t suppose anyone gave it a thought. Two 
young ladies and a child get into a carriage hun- 
dreds of times.” 

“Yes, but Marion was rather a striking contrast. 
She was ragged and dirty. I guess, I hardly know, 
but tear-stained. Then she clung to me and sobbed 
in a way that looked strange.” 

“Well, we will hope for the best, get ready for 
the worst, and take what comes. Here is the paper 
boy. We will see if the episode is mentioned. 
‘Child lost! Marion Knox. Reward for any infor- 
mation regarding her !’ ” 

Brave as Eldah was, a chill ran over her as 
she thought, what if they should lose her after all? 

Late in the night they lay awake, unable to sleep 
after the exciting events of the day. They evolved 
what seemed to them a feasible plan. 

The following morning, while the family were 


300 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


at breakfast, a man rang the bell and demanded 
to see Miss Homesworth. 

Dorothy answered the ring. 

Another slovenly looking creature stood there. 

“Well, what is it you want?” 

“I want to know where that gal is what was lost 
yesterday? If youVe got her you better fetch her 
out afore we make you trouble. What I say I 
mean ! There’s trouble a brewin if you don’t own 
up about that gal.” 

“The child has not been here for weeks, I have 
not seen her, neither do I know -where she is.” 

Dorothy said this with such a firm ring of truth 
in her voice, that it carried weight. 

The man did not doubt her. Besides, he was 
slightly afraid of her and cowered, as weakness 
ever does in the presence of strength. 

“Number Two disposed of,” she announced. “I 
think they will give us a rest now.” 

Dorothea returned to her work and it was decided 
that Eldah must not be seen at the door, while 
wisdom cautioned that she should stay rather 
closely within for a time. Several days passed une- 
ventfully, except that the frat girls ’ gathered at 
Eldah’s home to sew for their charge. 

Such grave consultations and perusal of fashion 
plates as ensued. 

The girls all coming from good homes, their 
ideas for Marion’s outfit were hardly in harmony 
with her position. However, Eldah’s mother came 
to the rescue, and under her judicious management, 
and with the assistance of the family dressmaker, 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


301 


they at length prepared pretty and serviceable 
costumes. 

The girls were very enthusiastic, and worked with 
a will, so at the end of two weeks, Marion was 
arrayed in pretty and becoming garments. 

This had been a time of great suspense and 
anxiety to the girls. They had felt it advisable to 
change Marion’s hiding place, lest they had been 
watched. 

This was accomplished at night, and the greatest 
secrecy maintained. 

They had secured an excellent home for her in 
the country, and packed her small trunk. Eldah 
expected to take her the following night. 

As for Marion, she was completely metamor- 
phosed. Frequent baths, the tangled ringlets nicely 
combed, and her neat dresses, had transformed the 
child of the slums into a respectable little lady. 

The few who were allowed to see her could 
hardly realize it was the same child, so quickly had 
she responded to the loving care bestowed upon 
her. 

The neglected child had vanished, and in her 
place shone out the embryo woman she was meant 
to be. 

Her people had not been idle, but their policy 
was a secret one. Being thoroughly convinced that 
Miss Homes worth was in some way connected with 
the kidnapping, they had .kept strict watch upon 
her every movement. 

Eldah had received several warning letters telling 
her to produce the child or the result would be dis- 


302 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


astrous to herself. She, however, was unfearful 
except for Marion, but was most anxious to hasten 
their departure. 

On this memorable day Eldah went to the home 
of a friend about half a mile distant from Marion’s 
hiding place, intending under the cover of dark- 
ness to slip over to see the girl and make some 
final arrangements for their trip the following day. 

She had hardly been seated, before the maid 
ushered into the parlor a girl with terrible looking 
dark eyes. 

“Ah! I’ve got you at last, have I?” Hattie ex- 
claimed, in tones fierce enough to chill one’s heart 
blood. “I’ve tracked you night and day, yet I never 
could catch you, but now — ” She gave a fiendish 
laugh and began to heap imprecations upon Eldah. 
“So you are the saint what stole my little sister! 
You might as well own up. It’s out. We know 
you’ve hid her, and you will produce her. Tell me 
where she is, or you will not leave this house alive !” 

Eldah’ s friend was frantic and rushed out of the 
room to call help, but Eldah’s control was admira- 
ble, although violently alarmed for fear of Marion’s 
discovery, she had no thought for her own safety. 

She arose and faced the agitated girl. “So this 
is Hattie. Often I have heard Mr. Kingsley speak 
of you. He is your friend. Would he wish you 
to do so, Hattie?” Eldah spoke calmly and looked 
at the girl intently. For a moment Hattie wavered 
under Eldah’s steady gaze, then the evil again rose 
within her. 

“Yes, he’s another of your saints! I tell you 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


303 


1 am going to have my little sister! Tell me where 
she is ! I'll give you just five minutes, and if you 
don’t, I’ll call my paw. He’s just around the corner, 
waiting to do his part of the job when I give him 
the whistle. Are you going to tell me?” 

Eldah took hold of the girl’s arm gently but 
firmly: “Hattie, you have gone to ruin. Why do 
you want to drag your little sister after you? 
Besides, you begged Mr. Kingsley to save Marion.” 

Hattie had been drinking heavily. All her better 
impulses were dulled. 

“You needn’t preach to me, I tell you. I want 
my sister! I’ll have her, too! And you must abide 
by the consequences if you do not tell me.” 

In her eyes burned a light fearful to behold. 

“Time’s up. Will you tell me?” 

“No ! I will never tell you where Marion is ! I will 
protect her if it takes the last drop of my heart’s 
blood !” 

In an instant Hattie shot out of the door and 
down the street, as she gave a shrill whistle which 
was answered by her villain of a father. 

“Fly ! Eldah !” screamed her friend. “They will 
be back in a minute,” rushing to doors and win- 
dows to assist the excited maid in making them 
secure. 

“I am not afraid for myself, but I must get 
Marion out of town to-night.” 

She darted out the back door and through an 
alley. She gained time while her pursuers were 
seeking admission to the house. But suspecting 


304 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


she had fled, they took separate ways, and just 
as Eldah reached the house where Marion was 
hidden, Hattie caught sight of her. 

“She has gone to see Marion now, paw,” Hattie 
reported, when she met him a few moments after. 

In the meantime Eldah, still breathless from her 
run, ordered Marion hidden in the attic; and they 
had called up the chief of police ; also the presi- 
dent of the Humane Society. 

How Eldah longed for Mr. Kingsley’s advice 
and help, but she was too reserved to seek it. 

Shortly after Doctor Percy appeared and prom- 
ised to do all in his power to assist them. He 
thought it wise, now that her hiding place had 
been discovered, to take the child before a Judge 
and let the matter be decided as to the parents’ 
fitness for guardianship. 

“You young ladies have acted nobly, and I want 
you to know that the whole Humane Society is 
back of you. I advise you to take the course sug- 
gested, as they can cause unpleasant notoriety by 
arresting you for kidnapping.” 

Eldah had previously telephoned Dorothea and 
Myrtelius, and the three girls blushed and smiled 
over their position, in spite of its gravity. 

The chief of police arrived and promised pro- 
tection for the night. He had encountered the 
father and others of their kind, and ordered them 
to leave, telling them they should have full justice 
done them in court next day. 

The case was set for three p. m. An hour earlier 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


305 


the girls were obliged to relinquish their now be- 
loved care to the chief of police. 

Eldah begged that they might accompany her 
to the court room. 

“No, she must go alone and state the case entirely 
uninfluenced by you,” was the inexorable reply. 

Marion could hardly be severed from her newly 
found friends. 

“Oh, don't send me down there without you, Miss 
Homesworth. I know they will get me some way, 
and I’ll never, never see you again. Don’t, don’t 
send me away from you !” 

Dorothea finally separated them. 

“Listen, Marion. We want badly enough to go, 
but Doctor. Percy says we cannot; so you must 
go and stand up like the little woman you are, 
tell the Judge the story, and that you want to come 
to us, and he will send you back, I am sure.” 

Marion started and then ran back and threw 
her arms around Eldah. “I will go because you 
say they will send me back.” Resolution was 
stamped upon the bright little face. “I will get 
back to you if I have to fight every step.” 

“You will return all right, I am sure, Marion 
dear,” said Myrtelius reassuringly, stroking the 
child’s hair. “It’s a clear case in your favor, so 
be our brave girlie now.” 

After Marion was on the steps, she gave a last 
appealing look at Eldah. 

Eldah’s calm was broken down. The intense 
strain had been too much, and for a few minutes 
it seemed as if she could never endure it, to wait 


306 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


hours yet in uncertainty. But the girls were hope- 
ful and cheering, so that by time the hour 
had passed, she was quite composed and satisfied 
all would be well. 

Another hour of intense watching on the part 
of all three, an hour that held the tremendous 
decision of a child’s destiny that was hanging in 
the balance. 

At five p. m. Doctor Percy ’phoned that the vic- 
tory was won, that Marion had acquitted herself 
most creditably, and brought tears to the eyes of 
the stern old Judge, wIiq never was known to 
weep. Her parents and Hattie were present and 
pled with her to go with them, but the child had 
caught a glimpse of something higher. “No, I 
never want to live that life again, Judge,” Marion 
said in a clear, ringing voice that touched all hearts. 

“Girls, you have done a noble deed. Allow me 
to congratulate you upon your protege, and upon 
your grit. Your courage has been admirable.” 

“When Marion finished her story, there was not 
a person present who was not busy using their 
handkerchief. The Judge said: ‘Marion Knox, 
I set you forever free from those who sully your 
innocence. Go to your new friends and become 
a good woman. You have the material all right, 
although where you got it is a fathomless mys- 
tery.’ ” 

“I have to leave you now, but the chief of police 
will conduct your charge to you in safety.” 

The girls were elated, but Eldah felt in keen 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


30 7 


suspense still. “Some way I cannot rest until I 
get my hands upon her again,” she said. 

Marion was so joyful she was treading air. Her 
father wept crocodile tears. Hattie declared she 
would destroy herself if Marion deserted her fam- 
ily, but her mother, more wily than the rest, touched 
upon the one tender link in the girl’s life that 
bound her tq the past. 

“The babies have cried their poor little eyes 
’most out, lookin’ and callin’ for you, Marne.” 

Marion’s heart gave a bound. She had loved 
the children and been their sole caretaker. 

Her mother, with evil craftiness, saw that she 
had touched the right chord. 

“Won’t you come home jest long enough to bid 
the kids good-by, afore you go off to be such a 
fine lady?” 

Marion turned to the chief of police: “May I 
go long enough to kiss the tots good-by? Will 
you go with me and then take me straight to the 
girls?” 

“Certainly,” responded the blue-coated individ- 
ual, and he walked away with the family. 

Marion was radiant over the thought of her 
freedom, but saddened somewhat over the neglected 
little ones she was leaving behind. 

Say not that evil does not walk the earth to 
slay the unsuspecting. 

Marion went into the place and was joyously 
welcomed by the children. 

The police remained outside. Presently that 
creature of evil, the child’s mother, slipped a gold 


308 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


piece into the hands of the officer, and shortly after 
he sauntered carelessly off. 

Marion, secure in her belief in her freedom, and 
trusting implicitly in the protection of the above 
mentioned individual, had not a fear as she romped 
with the children. 

Meanwhile the girls are listening, listening for 
every step. Hours pass. No Marion! 

They called up Doctor Percy, who assured them 
all was well, that the police had her in charge and 
she was safe. 

“Marion ! Marion ! Marion !” moaned Eldah, “I 
shall never forget your last look till my dying day.” 


Chapter XXXVIII. 


Two days after Marion’s recapture the story was 
told in the leading - dailies, stating that several soci- 
ety girls were implicated in the kidnapping. 

In brief, Eldah and the girls found themselves 
more notorious than they enjoyed, but they had 
little time to think of that, so interested were they 
in devising means to recover the lost girl. 

Doctor Percy had called upon the girls as soon as 
he learned the distressing news, and a plan of res- 
cue was evolved. 

The Christian Endeavor and Other societies were 
aroused, and a plan of concerted action was put into 
immediate execution. The search was most thor- 
ough and exhaustive. Still no Marion or any trace 
of her. 

The night of the disappearance, Eldah was awak- 
ened by a scream, or some sound startling enough 
to send her to her feet ere consciousness came. 
Her thoughts were so full of the lost child that 
it was no wonder she exclaimed : “Marion ! 
Marion !” 

She threw on the robe that lay near, and rushed 
down stairs to the front door. She flung it open, 
calling: “Marion! Marion !” 

But no one was there. She listened, and far in 
the distance fancied she heard voices and running. 

309 


310 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“O I believe she did come!” She peered out 
into the darkness. A clock struck midnight. “She 
ran away and they followed and took her again. 
O if I had not gone to sleep! But I was so worn 
that tired nature could hold out no longer.” 

Eldah slept no more that night. She felt help- 
less, for it was useless to call up the police, who 
had failed her. She could do nothing but wish 
the hours away. 

Some of her friends, with whom she advised 
next day, were of the opinion that it was a dream, 
due to her overwrought nerves, but Eldah felt in 
her heart that Marion had been near her and cried 
out for help, and that the child was retaken when 
at her very door, she doubted not. 

“She said she would fight her way back to me, 
and, poor little girl, she bravely tried.” 

Eldah could not rest night or day, but pushed 
the search with an intensity that did not wane. 

Many leading people formed into committees and 
for two months the case was pushed with una- 
bating zeal, but alas ! Marion was as completely lost 
sight of as if the earth had suddenly received her 
into its bosom. 

Eldah’s family and friends became alarmed over 
her physical condition. She could not forget the 
child even in her sleep. It seemed Marion’s hands 
were reaching out to her, and her eyes pleading 
for rescue. 

It was decided that Eldah must have a complete 
change, so it was thought best to send her away 
to a little village nestling on the mountain side, 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


311 


most picturesque in its delightful scenery, and not 
far from the seashore. 

A few days previous to her departure she was 
sitting in the carriage awaiting the return of her 
friend, who had gone into an unpretending cottage 
across the street to see her laundress. Suddenly 
Eldah was startled by encountering a pair of fierce 
black eyes cast upon her in a way that seemed as 
though they burnt her. 

She screamed, “Hattie !” and sprang out of the 
carriage and rushed after her, but the girl disap- 
peared in the house opposite, and Eldah could not 
gain an entrance. 

She was convinced by Hattie’s terrified look that 
Marion was hidden near by. She drove at once 
to Doctor Percy and he sent a trusty detective, 
but alas ! the defenceless bird had been removed to 
another cage. 

This was too much for Eldah’s strength and she 
was hurried away, although she consented only upon 
the promise of the girls that the search should be 
pushed as vigorously as if she were at its head, 

* * * * 

Our story must now turn to a very different quar- 
ter of the city, and to no other than Marion herself. 

She had rushed into the house and clasped to her 
motherly heart the babies, who welcomed her so 
vehemently that an hour sped away ere she thought 
of leaving them. 

Glancing at the lengthening shadows she was sur- 
prised to discover that it was six o’clock. 


312 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“Now, Bluebird, kiss me good-by; Tiddlede- 
winks, too, for I must go this minute !” 

She went to the door. It was locked. 

She pounded, and then called to the policeman, 
whom she doubted not waited outside for her 
coming. 

No answer. She ran to the window. That, too, 
was fastened. She tried the door leading into the 
other room, but it was bolted on the other side ! 

Then the terrible truth flashed upon her. She 
had been lured home by her mother, and trapped 
in the basest way ! 

Marion did not burst into a flood of tears as a 
weaker nature would have done. Besides, she was 
too angry to cry. She must think how to escape. 

“Ma’s a very devil, but I’ll outwit her yet.” 

Marion’s brain was keen and she had diplomacy 
far beyond her years. 

“I’ll get back to the girls if I die on the way!” 
she murmured between clenched teeth. 

The dogged look of stubbornness that formerly 
characterized her face returned. “I can be foxy, 
too.” 

She resumed her play with the children, and 
when Hattie appeared a little later, never betrayed 
that she realized she was a prisoner. 

Hattie was in an irresolute state. One moment 
remorse urged her to rescue Marion, but the next 
the evil spirit seemed to possess her utterly. 

Marion showed no sign of alarm at the deepen- 
ing shadows, so Hattie’s dull brain caught the idea 
that she was. really pleased to get back. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


313 


“Aint you awful glad to get home, Mame?” 

“Glad to get home ?” Marion repeated with scorn, 
then remembering that her only hope lay in being 
artful, she began dancing about the room with the 
children. 

In the midst of the hilarity her father came in. 
“Well, youngsters, it’s good to see Mame back, 
aint it?” 

He started to stroke her hair. “My, what a 
fine looking young lady you’ve got to be ! I hardly 
knowed you, you be so fixed up.” 

Marion sprang away from his touch as if it 
burned her. 

She. could hardly control her tongue. She wanted 
to brand him as a scoundrel and traitor. 

“Let me alone, pa! You and I don’t love each 
other. Never did, you know.” 

Marion escaped to the opposite side of the room. 

“You alius was a very imp of a young un, jes’ 
like a mule. I’d thought your fine friends would 
have larned you some manners to your dad.” 

Marion’s eyes gave a warning flash. The danger 
light was in them. Just then her mother; say, 
rather, the creature devoid of all sense of woman- 
liness, the fiend incarnate, looked in. “Come on, 
my pretty gal. Come eat some supper with your 
heart-broken maw. O! it’s night after night I’ve 
cried my eyes ’most clean out of my head a thinkin’ 
of and longin’ for you.” 

Marion, with her * old boldness, could endure it 
no longer. 


314 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“That’s enough, ma. I bet you laid awake nights 
a cryin’ for me !” 

Marion could not help the look of utter contempt 
and hatred that darkened her face. 

Fortunately the mother was too elated over her 
victim to notice it. 

Marion pretended to dine with the rest, but in 
reality she was observing every window and door 
critically and meditating flight. 

She saw her father drink heavily from the black 
bottle, followed by Hattie, and the creature. 

The thought came to her that when they were 
all under the influence of liquor she might make 
her escape. 

Her father proposed that they drink the health 
of their charming young damsel, which they pro- 
ceeded to do with great gusto. 

Their number was increased by several coming 
in. Coarse songs and jests followed, interspersed 
with the uncorking of bottles. 

Every moment increased Marion’s disgust and 
despair, but it stimulated her to escape or perish. 

Live in such a place after breathing a pure 
atmosphere, she never would ! She could die first, 
and she would ! 

As the evening advanced, her father lay in a 
drunken stupor, while the creature was no better 
off. Hattie was half awake, but more stupid than 
usual. 

Some one had left the side door open. All were 
too intoxicated to think of Marion. 

She gradually and with greatest care, slipped 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


315 


over near the door. Then, when Hattie’s face was 
turned away, out she sped ; out into the pure, free 
air ! Out, away, away ! 

She ran, she knew not where. She cared not. 
Anywhere out in God’s world. He would shelter 
her. 

Presently she was aware that some one was run- 
ning after her. 

She feared it was the policeman, but pausing to 
regain her breath, discovered it was Hattie. 

The thought came to win Hattie over. 

She knew at this stage of the drink she could 
be coaxed into almost anything. 

Marion waited for her to come up. 

“What are you clearin’ out again for, you little 
brat ?” 

“Come on, Hattie, and I’ll tell you. See ! I have 
some money. Let’s spend it.” 

•“Agreed !” replied the poor, confused girl. “Get 
me something nice, won’t you?” 

‘Yes. Wliat do you want?” 

“I don’t know. My head feels queer.” 

She was almost ready to drop asleep standing on 
her feet. 

Marion saw a car going in the direction of Miss 
Homes worth’s. She hailed it, saying: “We’ll talk 
about what you want on the car, Hattie.” 

Marion’s heart throbbed so she thought the con- 
ductor and -every one must hear it. 

Nearer and nearer they came to the object of 
her desire. 

It seemed as if she would die from very ecstasy. 


316 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


They got off the car and Marion fairly dragged 
Hattie along till they reached Miss Homesworth’s 
door. 

It was then that she threw herself against it in 
a transport of agonized joy and frenzied pain. 

She screamed for Eldah. Her cry seemed to 
arouse the nearly slumbering girl at her side to 
the gravity of the situation. 

“What you doin’, screamin’ for Miss Eldah? 
Where are we, anyway?” Staring up at the stately 
home blankly. 

Then it dawned upon her. “O you minix ! If you 
aint cleared out for your angel’s and taken me 
with you ! Well, I’ll fix you !” 

A night watchman unfortunately came by at that 
instant. Hattie ran to him. “Here ! Get that girl 
away from that house ! She’s tryin’ to break in.” 

The man sprang up the steps and clapped a pair 
of handcuffs on Marion. 

She pled, screamed, and raved like a madman. 

So near freedom, hope, a pure life, heaven! And 
then thrust back into the teeming whirlpool of evil ! 

She bit, she acted insane, indeed, so he was glad 
to lock her up in the nearest station. 

“God! God!” she wailed. “So near her, and you 
didn’t save me !” 

O strange, strange paradox of human life ! So 
near the haven of safety, then a tragedy. Almost 
touching the shore, and then carried out to the 
storm tossed ocean. 

The sad conclusion, too sad to record, too sad 
for the mind to dwell upon;, but true, bitterly, 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


317 


terribly true. Marion was conveyed back to her 
home next morning - , and the episode not reported. 

Here we lose sight of her for a time, but let 
us hope that so brave a spirit, will be rescued from 
the den of thieves, for those who steal the bloom 
from innocence, and betray the childhood of the 
land, certainly are the most debased of all knaves. 

How many a life goes down when inside the 
harbor, as this brave child, with but a door between 
herself and her friend. But it was opened — just a 
moment too late ! 


Chapter XXXIX. 


Sometime has elapsed since we have heard from 
the bright young girls who were bravely fighting 
life’s battle. 

Nelle, still in her country retreat, was developing 
a most lovable character, while Elsie, in the whole- 
some atmosphere of the Trueman family circle, 
could but imbibe womanliness and culture. 

Nelle’s friends had found her company so indis- 
pensable that a permanent home was offered, and 
she had already become like a daughter in the 
household. 

Miss Wymen’s heart warmed to all the friendless 
ones in the great city, especially after hearing of 
Elsie’s thrilling experience, and she had interested 
many in opening their homes to the fresh air work. 

She was a woman of strong character and great 
decision. 

Nelle had become so much to her, that she sud- 
denly asked herself : “Am I becoming selfish with 
that child? I fear so. I wonder if she does not 
need younger company? I have it! I’ll invite Elsie 
down for two weeks this summer.” 

Miss Wymen went in quest of Nelle, and as she 
caught a glimpse of her rosy cheeks and happy 
expression, she exclaimed: “Thank the Great Mas- 
ter, she is safe, and that I was guided to her.” 

318 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


319 


What a contrast Nelle presented as she was 
bringing the horses from the pasture. 

This the pale, sad looking girl, who was all alone 
in the world? 

Bright-eyed now, full of life and vim, she made 
a pleasing picture. 



Miss Wymen told her of the plan. Nelle was 
delighted, until a thought came that clouded her 
brow. 

“What is it, child?” 



320 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“O! she can’t come, for she couldn’t leave the 
children.” 

“Well, if that’s all, we will ask her to bring one 
of them.” 

Miss Wymen hastened to put her kind thought 
into action, and next day Mrs. Trueman received 
the invitation. 

“Yes, Elsie must go. It will do her good, and 
Gladys needs country air. I am sure Noble will 
think it most desirable.” 

So she communicated the good news to Elsie, 
who was so brimful of happiness it seemed as if 
the house would hardly contain her. 

In less than a week the two were on their way. 

Gladys, with wide open eyes, drinking in all the 
summer beauty like the artist soul she was, Elsie 
in the gayest spirits. 

The truly feminine meeting of the chums was 
interesting to behold. 

Nelle had the roomy carriage at the station wait- 
ing to store away girls and baggage. 

And what an astonishing amount of conversation 
was crowded into that little half hour’s ride ! 

Gladys enjoyed everything she saw. “It’s just 
like heaven, isn’t it, Elsie?” 

She was wild to get out and run, so they drove 
slowly and allowed her to be the first to reach the 
house. 

She paused shyly when she saw a lady waiting 
on the porch to receive her, but the kind face reas- 
sured her. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


321 


She forgot her embarrassment next instant, for 
a squirrel bounded across the lawn and up a tree. 

“O didn’t he do that quick? God made him on 
the same plan as the lightning, didn’t He?” 

The blue eyes were lifted thoughtfully to Miss 
Wymen’s face. 

The lady laughed as she greeted the small girl. 

“So this is my little guest from the city. I am 
glad to see you, dear, and I hope you will not feel 
strange or lonely a moment.” 

“O, just see those birds feeding their babies ! 
God must know lots and lots to make so many 
animals and flowers, and lightning. Shouldn’t you 
think He’d run out of ideas ? 

Mamma says she does sometimes when she is 
tired, but then God is smarter than mamma even, 
though it seems hard to believe.” 

Miss Wymen realized that she had her hands 
full, for before she had answered the last question, 
more were being poured like a torrent upon her. 

“When that dear little squirrel ran up the tree, 
and turned around and looked at me with his bright 
eyes, I just thought ’bout the lightning. It struck 
a tree in our backyard the other night. I was stand- 
ing by the window and saw it do it. It just ran 
down the tree and tore off a big piece of bark, 
and went right into the ground. It was bluish red, 
and then it thundered so it sounded like the rocks 
were falling right on our house. I jumped and ran 
to mamma. ‘God is speaking loudly to us just 
now, isn’t He, dear?’ she said, and I suppose He 


322 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


just has to when we don’t listen when He whispers 
to us, don’t you ?” 

“Mamma says He whispers to us in the flowers, 
sends us lovely messages in the songs of the birds 
and that the leaves sing nice things to us ; but 
sometimes we do not pay ’tention, so He speaks 
louder in the wind and thunder.” 

Gladys paused for breath. 

‘‘Yes, that is right. God does talk to us in all 
those ways, little girl, and I’m afraid we often 
need Him to speak quite loudly to us in the storms 
that touch our lives, because we will not listen to 
the whispers of “the still small Voice.” 

Here and there a silvery thread began to show 
in the brown coil that crowned Miss Wymen’s 
head. 

She was just in her prime, but the storms had 
shaken her life and left their trace. 

As she led Gladys into the house a yearning filled 
her heart. 

But for a grave out there in the churchyard, she 
might now have held a hand like this and called 
it all her own. 

She was a resolute soul, and had nobly risen 
above her pain by throwing herself into service for 
humanity. 

Ere the girls came bounding in, Gladys and she 
were quite friends. 

It was a new and wonderful world to Gladys. 
The “little cows,” as she called the calves, and 
other animals interested her greatly, but the flowers, 
sunset and birds, fascinated her. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


323 


“She is the most remarkable child of the most 
remarkable family that ever lived,” enthusiastically 
exclaimed Elsie one day, as the three sat together 
while Gladys had gone for a ride with Miss 
Wymen’s nephew, Max. 

“I wouldn’t have believed that such a family 
could exist outside a fairy tale. The deep things 
that child says. Why, I just feel like stupidity in 
the presence of brilliancy. Those eyes seem to see 
into the heart of things, and Vera, I wish you 
could see her ! She is the dearest, naughtiest little 
sinner you can imagine. The things that child does 
are enough to drive an ordinary mother crazy. 
But her mother knows just how to manage her. 
She isn’t mean, but just a mischief from the 
crown of her head to the sole of her foot. And 
then our baby! Well, people think there never was 
one so smart — I mean other people — and so polite. 
She is going to be like Gladys, for she says the 
deepest things. And her eyes are like large violets 
with dark, long lashes. She goes to Sunday school 
and comes home and talks about Daniel and all 
those people, and she just three!” 

It was pleasant indeed to witness Elsie’s pride 
in her charges. 

Miss Wymen gave thanks as she thought of this 
bright girl’s escape from a life of shame. 

“Only the other day,” Elsie continued, “Eleanor 
was crying. Her mamma said : ‘Come here, dear, 
and let me wipe away your tears.’ Eleanor did not 
move, but looked at her mother thoughtfully a 
moment. ‘Why don’t you come to mamma and let 


324 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


her wipe away the tears, Baby?’ ‘I can’t, mamma.’ 
'Why not?’ her mother inquired. ‘Why, you can’t 
wipe away my thoughts, can you, mamma?”* 

“Did you ever !” exclaimed Miss Wymen. “I 
should think she was too brilliant to stay here.” 

The two weeks glided by like a bright dream. 
Pleasant drives, picnics in the woods, and happy 
talks, filled the time. 

It was like some bright spots in our lives to 
which we look back as to halcyon days — when not 
a cloud crossed our sky, when there was glory on 
the leaves and grass, and life seemed a beautiful 
summer day. 

It is well that these green spots come, the mem- 
ory of which will serve to illumine some cloudy 
days when the winds are chill, and the flowers 
have faded. 

Hope revives when it gazes upon some of the 
pictures that memory holds up, and sings anew of 
the Homeland where the birds and flowers are 
fadeless. 


*A true remark of two-year-old Eleanor Sanford. 


Chapter XL. 


Lora and Mrs. Alexander had remained at their 
seaside retreat some weeks longer than usual. Mrs. 
Alexander felt the need of relaxation to become 
sufficiently strong for the round of festivities of 
the approaching season. 

Lora loved the outdoor freedom, and one day, 
in her rambles with a party of young people, they 
stopped at a pretty cottage nestling on the moun- 
tain side. The artistic beauty of the place was 
enhanced by a most beautiful waterfall.* 

Lora was so charmed by the place that she after- 
wards frequented the spot whenever possible. 

She had never been permitted a glimpse of the 
owner but once. Then a lady came to the door 
and spoke to the little maid who was weeding the 
flower beds. Her voice was refined and her manner 
so superior to the native inhabitants of the place, 
that Lora felt drawn to her, and through their 
stay, found her thoughts turning very often to the 
sweet lady in the cottage. 

Her surprise was great one day to see Professor 
Homesworth’s daughter come out of the gate and 
meet her face to face. 

“Why, Miss Homesworth! When did you come? 


*See cover. 


325 


326 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


And are you staying in this delightful place?” 
exclaimed Lora, pointing to the cottage. 

“I came last evening and I am visiting here with 
a dear friend of my mother’s,” Eldah replied, 
drawing the young girl’s arm through hers and 
strolling with her down the mossy path. 

Eldah had always been attracted to the banker’s 
daughter, and was glad of the opportunity of know- 
ing her better. 

“How long will you remain, Miss Homesworth?” 

“Just two weeks.” 

“O I am glad !” Lora exclaimed, impulsively, 
for we stay just that length of time. May I come 
and see you often?” 

“I shall be most happy to have you, dear.” 

Eldah held the hand of the girl warmly as they 
parted. 

Thus it chanced that Lora went often to the 
charmed spot. The lady, however, had been called 
away by a business telegram, so Lora was denied 
her desire to meet her, but she found great 
comfort in being with Eldah, and during their daily 
rambles together they formed a friendship that was 
destined to be lasting — a .most helpful influence in 
Lora’s life — for she gained much from contact with 
this strong, pure young woman of high ideals, yet 
who made them practical in her everyday life. 

A few days previous to their departure, Mr. Alex- 
ander came down. 

Lora told her father of Eldah and their delight- 
ful talks ; also of the pretty cottage, and wished him 
to see it. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


327 


So insistent was she upon it, that just after sun- 
set, Mr. Alexander set out alone for her favorite 
stroll. 

A rustic bridge spanned the banks of a pretty 
little stream. 



Just as he stepped upon the bridge, a lady 
approached from the other side. 

Mr. Alexander was noting every beautiful effect 
in foliage, and they reached the center of the bridge 
before their eyes met. 


328 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“Theodora ! God help me ! Is it you ?” broke from 
Mr. Alexander’s lips in an impassioned cry. 

Rooted to the spot by a force she could not con- 
tend against, the lady moved not, nor spoke. It 
seemed she scarcely breathed, so utterly was she 
unprepared for the shock. 

How long they stood thus, silently, they never 
knew, but at last he moved nearer her, and stand- 
ing still in silence so profound that the turbulent 
beating of their hearts could be heard, they gazed 
away from each other down the little stream, for 
just such a tiny one had divided them. 

Still no word broke the stillness for many min- 
utes; the spell of the years of suffering was upon 
them, they were powerless to move away, yet an 
impassable gulf held them from taking a step 
nearer — that would mean dishonor. 

“O God, save us !” was the cry of the noble 
woman as she stood within touch of the hand of 
all hands she most longed to clasp. 

“My God ! My God ! I can never leave her again !” 
was the passionate outcry of Mr. Alexander’s tem- 
pest riven soul. 

All the pent-up years of silent suffering rushed 
over him now. His self mastery, what did it avail 
him ! All swept away in a moment, and he, the 
proud man of the world, stood trembling like a 
leaf shaken by the storm. 

My Angel, my Queen!” his heart wailed, but 
no sound escaped him. 

The anguish was upon him deeper than he had 
ever known, for he realized now all her nobility 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


329 


of soul, and that this pure, rare woman had loved 
him faithfully all these years. 

There she stood at his very side, suffering, too, 
and he was the cause of all her lonely years. 

The conflict became more fierce. 

“I must take her in my arms for one, one little 
moment only!” he pleaded with himself. 

“I owe it to her — I will!” 

Everything else, his obligations to another, paled 
before the fire that seemed consuming him body 
and soul. 

Meanwhile, unobserved by them, the sunset had 
faded ; night and a tempest was fast closing them in. 

The lady with quick penetration caught his rash 
feeling, and aroused to a sense of their danger, 
summoned courage to speak. 

“Alex, night is fast approaching, and we must 
depart..” 

Her well remembered voice thrilled him anew as 
it had down all the years of their separation. 

In the wild tempest of soul he forgot all — wife, 
daughter, position and honor. 

“Theodora! One moment, look in my eyes.” He 
clasped her hand, while he felt her whole being 
convulsed in emotion rivaling his own. But the 
woman, the strong, pure soul that had lived down 
and above its own pain, rose to the need of the 
moment. 

“Alex, listen to me. We met here by chance. 
Heaven has not prevented it. Shall we abuse the 
opportunity vouchsafed us?” 

“Twenty years have elapsed since the old days 


330 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


and this fatal night. God has kept my soul pure 
and I have been proud to know that your manhood 
was clean.” 

“Will you soil* it, and drag me down from the 
height I have slowly and with such painful steps 
attained ?” 

“Will you forget all that you owe to another — 
position, honor and truth?” 

“If so, then I have misread you and trusted in 
vain.” 

She drew back her hand. Her words had recalled 
his nobler self. 

He stood erect and a degree of control was 
regained. 

“All these years, Alex, your record has been 
unsullied. Mar it not now.” 

“We meet by the will of a Higher Power and 
not of our seeking. Let the hour not live blackened 
in our memories by remorse, but rather, may it be 
an incentive to cleanse all our being, so that when 
this earth struggle is ended, we, freed of these 
environments, may be white of soul to enjoy an 
Eden of bliss.” 

Mr. Alexander hung entranced on her words, 
and through his mind flashed a rapturous hope. 

“Theodora,” he said reverently, “May I dare hope 
in that far eternity, where earth ties are not, to 
share your companionship?” 

She bent her face lower to hide the joy that 
flashed suddenly over it, while she softly whispered, 
“You may!'* 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


331 


The storm burst upon them and forbade further 
converse. 

Mr. Alexander hurriedly accompanied the lady 
to her own door, and for one single instant, once 
more touched the hand of the woman to whom 
all his soul bowed in obeisance. 

She was firm, poised, and true to the last ; but 
when all was over, she fled to her room, and the 
storm in her soul overwhelmed her. 

It receded again and again, only to break its wild 
billows over her more fiercely the next moment. 

Hours passed unheeded, while the brave woman 
battled heroically alone with her grief. 

Alone? Not alone, for One of calm Presence, 
though unseen by mortals, “stood in the midst,” 
and when the passionate anguish had well nigh 
exhausted itself, she heard : 

“But when in your Gethsemane dark woes shall 
press, 

My sleepless love shall cradle thee with peace and 
rest.” 

Rising and going to the window, she saw the 
rose tints of early dawn. One star alone shone 
brightly. 

“It is the star of hope,” she murmured, “and it 
means for us there will come a morning fairer than 
thought can picture.” 

“We will meet some fair morning in the land 
that knows no night ; we will meet, bright star of 
hope, beneath your rays, and in the long eternity 
be undivided !” 


Chapter XLI. 


Mr. Kingsley and his settlement work had moved 
steadily onward, broadening and lifting many lives 
to a higher plane. 

The children whom Mr. Trueman led to his door 
have become very much to his life. 

A motherly woman was secured to care for them, 
and they lived on at the settlement, daily creeping 
closer into the lonely heart of the heroic man who 
befriended them. 

Jack’s father never appeared, from the fact that 
for weeks he lay in that gruesome place called the 
morgue, among the unidentified dead. 

In crossing a busy thoroughfare he had been seri- 
ously injured by a team, was carried to the hos- 
pital in an unconscious state, and passed out, leav- 
ing no clue behind. 

Dimple had forgotten her sorrow and was the 
light of the place. 

Litle Jack was full of mischief and good spirits, 
but often his face would become sober as he said : 
“Why don’t my papa ever come?” 

Many times Mr. Kingsley’s heart was touched to 
see him leave his play and stand at the window 
looking longingly down the street. 

At one of these times Jack shouted: “O goody! 
There he is !” 


332 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


333 


He pounded on the glass and succeeded in 
attracting the attention of as disreputable looking 
a boy as even Mr. Kingsley was in the habit of 
meeting. 

A shout of unfeigned joy came in response, and 
in a moment more, the most dirty of all youngsters 
bounded into the room and grasped Jack in his 
arms. 

“O ! I knowed I would find you yet, Johnny 
Jump Up !” administering a violent slap on the 
back as his manly expression of pleasure. 

“Where’s the baby ?” he asked eagerly. 

Mr. Kingsley brought her in, wondering very 
much what clue this might lead to, and extremely 
disliking to have his treasure contaminated by so 
much filth. 

But Tom did not offer to touch her. He just 
gazed at her so admiringly that it touched Mr. 
Kingsley’s heart. 

“O but youse a daisy ! Never seed one like youse. 
Can’t youse ’member youse friend, him as brought 
you the bottle?” 

“Say, mister, youse aint her dad, be youse?” 

“No, I regret to say I am not, but tell me who 
you are?” 

“Well, ’taint much to tell who 1 be. I be Thomas 
O’Ryan, newsboy and bootblack.” 

“When and where did you know these children ?” 
inquired Mr. Kingsley, with deep interest. 

Tom related how he found them and assumed 
their guardianship, and how he had searched 
brokenheartedly for “his kids” ever since. 


334 


A STUDY IN LIFE TIFTTS. 


The story could but warm Mr. Kingsley’s heart 
to the boy. He questioned him kindly of his past 
and present, and before the interview closed, he 
promised him a suit of clothes if he would take a 
daily bath for one month. 

At the end of the time Thomas O’Ryan was so 
completely transformed he did not recognize him- 
self, when he caught a full length view in a mirror. 

It was amusing to see the effect this had upon 
him. He walked slowly back and forth in front 
of the glass admiring himself beyond words. 

At last he exclaimed: “Jiminy! Aint I slick? 
’Spose it’s me all right, but it don’t look it,” shaking 
his head doubtfully. 

“Gee whiz! Won’t the boys guy me. But I don't 
care, if she likes me, the little un.” 

“Maybe he might just let me kiss her cheek.” 

Mr. Kingsley recognized there was real merit 
in so kindly a heart as Tom had displayed to the 
unfortunate children, and sought to better his con- 
dition. 

“I’ll tell you, Tom. If you will go to night school 
three months, I’ll take you in and make you my 
errand boy.” 

Tom listened amazed. Gee whiz! Aint my goose 
cookin’ all right? T say, mister, I aint worth all 
youse doin’, but I will be some day. 

“Good !” responded Mr. Kingsley, much pleased 
with the boy’s quick appreciation. 

Mr. Kingsley had also secured a clean room for 
the lad, and to see Tom in proud possession, was 
indeed a rich treat. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


335 


The bed had a white spread which he took off 
and carefully folded up. He patted the comfort 
as he would Dimple, but when he got into the 
snowy sheets his delight knew no bounds. 

“Gee whiz ! Aint they famous ? And to think 
this is me!” 

He got up and smoothed them down lest a wrinkle 
should mar their immaculate making. 

“There aint many so rich ! I feel like a cab driver, 
so all spruced up. I aint no common gamin no 
more. I bet I show Mr. Kingsley a neat turn or 
two.” 

“White sheets! Tve heerd of ’em! But I never 
\sposed Thomas O’Ryan be that rich! There aint 
a speck of dirt on ’em, not anywheres,” holding 
the light down and surveying them critically. 
“They’re just as nice as he sleeps in, I’ll wager.” 

“He’s so good to my kids, too, and to all the 
small fry, that I’ll be switched if I don’t do some- 
thin right handsum for him yet.” 

Tom could not sleep for hours, because of the 
newly acquired dignity of his position. 

So another young* life was being lifted from the 
mire and started in the right channel. 

With his new treasures, and his work requiring 
every energy, still Mr. Kingsley was not satisfied, 
and often when “the cares that infest the day” had 
fled, he would take a stroll through the streets, 
trying to walk off his restlessness. 

The more he sought to forget the inspiration 
and comfort Eldah’s presence had been to him, 
the more persistently it remained. 


336 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


He had not heard until recently that the engage- 
ment was broken. 

After hearing it he went to his room, and going 
to the window looked up at the stars, his patient 
friends. 

“Thank God! Thank God!” was all his lips could 
utter ; but the expression on his face told how much 
it lightened his heart. 

The careworn look vanished, and he seemed to 
grow younger as he stood there, still looking 
upward. 

“I thought my sun had set. It has been blackest 
of night, but the starlight begins to peep through 
the shadows at last.” 

“I have been trusting in the Infinite Love to meet 
my human longing, and perhaps — perhaps — but I 
dare not hope so great satisfaction can be for me.” 

A less noble man would have instantly thought 
the release from Eldah’s engagement gave him the 
right to seek her and ease his own heart hunger. 

But with stern and admirable control, he held 
back his hope, and thought of her long struggle. 

“She shall rest ere I invade her peace with another 
momentous question.” 

“Miss Dorothy told me she was not well. I have 
waited years. I can wait a little longer.” 

He closed his mouth firmly, but a new light shone 
in his eyes. 

So while crowding back the sweet stirring of 
heart that set his blood bounding, he, stern and 
strong, sentenced himself to added denial, lest he 
add too much pain to a frail, delicate nature, for 


. A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 337 

intense happiness is sometimes pain. Ele “with 
steadfast, unspoken endurance, and the silence of 
will,” held down his new hope and thought unsel- 
fishly of Eldah’s long strain, and that she must need 
rest before he offered her even the deep joy which 
he hoped was for them. 

Was not this the highest type of manhood? 


Chapter XLII. 


“It is not so much what you say 

As the manner in which you say it, 

It is not so much the language you use 
As the tone in which you convey it. 

‘Come here !’ I sharply said— 

And the baby cowered and wept ! 

‘Come here,’ I cooed, and he looked and smiled 
While straight to my arms he crept.’’ 

Mrs. Trueman repeated the above one day to 
Elsie, when she had been very impulsive and “didn’t 
see why things had to get so tangled when she 
meant all right.” 

“But, Elsie dear, I feel that way, too, often, 
and the dearest friends may not see alike. Do you 
not know that our tones are sometimes misleading, 
when we say it is all right?” 

“Well, I can’t make myself any different,” 
groaned Elsie. “I was born hasty and it is useless 
to hope. People often feel I’m scornful and severe 
when I am only in fun.” 

Mrs. Trueman had much of Elsie’s high-strung 
nature and appreciated the girl’s difficulties. 

In many little talks together Elsie found help, 
and was becoming far more controlled than for- 
merly, although she did not realize her own growth. 

“Character is something that we cannot build in 
a day,” Mrs. Trueman continued, “and only when 
338 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


339 


we are about ready to die, do we see that it takes 
an entire lifetime to build one. I am just as impul- 
sive as you are, at times. I want to hurry my chil- 
dren on and make them see what is so clearly for 
their good ; but I cannot do-it. I am thrown back 
upon the fact that each soul must take its own gait. 
We cannot push the light in front of the eyes before 
they are ready for it, lest it dazzle them and they 
turn away from it.” 

“Our unfoldment is first the leaf, blossom, then 
the fruit. We cannot attain all we desire just at 
first. It is one step at a time, and if you overcome 
one thing, another comes easier.” 

“But I slip back so many steps where I take one 
onward,” Elsie said, in a tone of discouragement. 

“The old story of life and a disheartening view, 
were it not that there is One who is strong to help 
us, and He perceives not what we did, but what 
we strove to do. Just as we do with the children 
when we know they are trying to help us, though 
they make so many mistakes they hinder more.” 

Elsie’s face lit up. “Oh, if that is the way He 
does, perhaps there is help for me.” 

“There certainly is hope for every soul who ear- 
nestly seeks to climb,” Mrs. Trueman responded. 

Eleanor was playing with her dolls, apparently 
inattentive to the conversation, but she raised her 
wonderful eyes to her mother’s face : “Mamma, 
W hat is a. soul?” 

Katherine gathered her up in her arms. 

The blue eyes looked thoughtful. “I cannot tell 
you now, baby mine, but you are the most blessed 


340 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS . 


infant I can imagine,” and Katherine lapsed from 
the study of the building of character to the pleas- 
ure of a romp with the children, who came bound- 
ing into the room like skyrockets. 

“Mamma, it’s the disgracefulest thing, and I 
don’t think it is very smart to tie a can to a cat’s 
tail as Dan did,” stormed Vera. 

“And he chased the poor thing up a tree and 
called the dog to keep her there,” added Gladys, 
indignantly. 

It is cruel sport, but Dan hasn’t anybody to teach 
him. Gladys, tell Dan I have something nice for 
him.” 

Dan soon appeared, looking sheepish and fully 
expecting a lecture. 

Mrs. Trueman invited him in and showed him 
every courtesy, and ere the visit ended, had won the 
boy’s heart. She did not refer to the incident, but 
paved the way for the talks that she had with him 
afterward. 

This was the enlargement of the human love until 
it touched the surrounding territory, leaving a 
healthful impress on every life near it. 

All true love must have this influence, for in its 
very nature is like the prism. It catches and reflects 
all of the rare colors, and throws its radiance over 
everything it comes in contact with, clothing the 
most obnoxious objects with fair tints. 


Chapter XLIII. 


Mr. Templeton had been earnestly pushing the 
correspondence with Dorothea, and unable longer 
to resist the impulse to obtain a nearer view, had 
formed a most plausible excuse for visiting the 
University where the young lady shone as one of 
the leading lights. 

Chagrined at not finding her upon the moment 
of his arrival, he pulled his handsome mustache sav- 
agely, and demanded somewhat curtly where he 
could locate her. 

No one being able to enlighten him, he strolled 
away with dejection evinced in every movement. 

An hour later he called again, with no better 
result. 

He inquired with such anxious solicitude as to 
her probable whereabouts, that his listeners could 
scarcely repress a smile. 

Having ascertained the addresses of several of 
her friends, he at once made the rounds, but alas, 
for his youthful ardor, not one could give him the 
desired information. 

“Well, confound it, anyhow ! Here I have taken 
this long trip, missed two days’ recitations and can’t 
find her!” 

“What consummate folly upon my part not to 
have wired her. Of course she has an engagement 
341 


342 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


with some other lucky guy, whom I should like 
to decapitate this instant.” 

“And that debate is on for to-morrow night, so 
I dare not stay. Well, I will try once more and 
see if she has returned — and — ” Mr. Templeton 
looked at his watch — “Gracious!” It’s past calling 
hours, and those people will think I an escaped 
lunatic.” 

“I think this pretty severe on a fellow to 
lose so much time before exams and not even 
get a glimpse of her. But perhaps I can make it 
in the morning. 

Mr. Templeton consulted his time card, and 
we fear gave vent to his feelings in stronger terms 
than is fitting to use in ears polite. 

Meanwhile, Dorothea was at the Ladies’ Board- 
ing Hall in deep consultation regarding the next 
month’s issue of the illustrious “Newtonian Star.” 

The editor and her staff, having transacted their 
weighty business, were lingering for the chat so 
dear to the girlish heart. 

The rest had gone, leaving Myrtelius alone with 
Dorothea. 

The latter seemed most impatient as she turned to 
question her friend. “What ails Mr. Kingsley, 
anyway? Why don’t he settle things up and relieve 
the public mind?” 

“In what way, pray? I supposed he was very 
strict in business matters?” replied Myrtelius, in a 
perfectly matter-of-fact way. 

“Oh, I do not mean in dollars and cents. But 
why does he not settle up his matrimonial affairs, 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


343 


when everything is fair sailing? Here it is at least 
four months since the engagement was broken.” 

Myrtelius laughed. ‘‘You talk like a professional 
matchmaker.” 

“I repudiate the charge with disdain !” the young 
woman retorted, ‘‘but I would like to see things 
fixed up in that quarter the way they belong, 
wouldn’t you?” 

“For my part, I think they were all right. The 
idea of Eldah’s throwing over a chance to visit 
the old world and study all she wanted to, having 
all the money she wished and go just where she 
desired, is not to be despised. Mr. Richmond is a 
nice man, too. For my part, I think the break was 
a mistake.” 

“O you make me tired, Myrtelius! and we are 
too good friends to quarrel ; but we never will see 
eye to eye along some lines. I do not place money 
above character !” 

“Neither do I, but I can just tell you, I would 
never marry without it ! I am not a humanitarian. 
I prefer ‘books in the running brooks,’ and to 
escape to nature, instead of spending my life work- 
ing with the dregs of society, as Eldah will have 
to if she goes there. And she is too cultured a 
girl to bury her talents in that way.” 

“Isn’t Mr. Kingsley too cultured a man to do 
likewise?” questioned Miss Dorothy, with lawyer- 
like directness. 

“Doubtless he is, but he need not drag Eldah into 
it, too,” answered Myrtelius warmly. 

Myrtelius pushed back her hair from her intel- 


344 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


lectual brow and her eyes sparkled defiantly, for 
Eldah was quite an ideal of hers. As she did so, 
something flashed on her hand. 

Dorothea was upon her in an instant. “Why, 
you wicked creature ! How dare you have such a 
thing as that and not tell me !” 

Myrtelius’ dark eyes fell beneath the searching 
gaze, which was more tell-tale than any answer 
could have been. 

“Well ! well ! well ! When on earth did this hap- 
pen, and who is the unfortunate victim? Beg par- 
don, ’twas a slip, I mean fortunate. You may as 
well tell me instantly, for I shall never cease until 
you do/’ 

Myrtelius smiled, but looked as contrary as pos- 
sible, so we leave the astonished editor to make 
her own discoveries, fully convinced she is equal 
to the emergency. 

Myrtelius, the bright and studious, had not only 
attracted the attention of one of the faculty, but 
actually captured the prize. There had been a secret 
understanding between them for some months, 
which was unsuspected by their nearest friends. 

Now that Myrtelius was about to complete her 
final year at the University, they decided to astonish 
the students and professors by the silent, but all 
potent announcement, which now shone upon the 
young woman’s hand. 

Dorothea was never so puzzled in her life. “I 
did not think you would be the first to break up 
our old maid’s frat, for you never had time for 
such nonsense.’’ 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


345 


“I did not have ; it was because I cared so much 
for my books that it came.” 

“O the plot thickens ! It must be some dry old 
professor who is always digging in classic lore. ,, 

“It’s no such thing !” Myrtelius warmly retorted. 
“He is neither old nor dry, but I prefer a man 
older than myself, to whom I can look up.” 

“I like to see you warm up ! Come ! Are you going 
to tell me his name or not? I give you warning 
that I shall camp right here at your feet for the 
night, unless you impart the information.” 

“Well, you aren’t so brilliant after all, as we 
thought you.” 

Thus put upon her mettle, Dorothea put her face 
in her hands and donned her intellectual cap. Sud- 
denly the light shone in her eyes and she almost 
lifted Myrtelius from her feet and swung her 
around. “You don’t mean to say it is Professor 
Barney ?” 

“I don’t say anything about it!” But she did, 
for a deep blush told the story. 

“Say ! but you’ve made the hit, Myrtelius. When 
is it to come off?” 

“There! Go off with your nonsense. You can 
pump all night, and I’ll not tell you another word.” 

The young woman closed her firm mouth deci- 
sively. 

“I don’t care for any more, thank you. If I 
survive the shock and live to a ripe old age, it will 
not be laid at your door, for you all but ended my 
brilliant career. Good-night. I leave you to fair 
dreams, while I shall be obliged to spend a sleep- 


346 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


less one, all because of your heartlessness in break- 
ing up our sacred frat, for when once the ranks 
are invaded by Cupid, there’s no telling what havoc 
he will work. 

Dorothea reached home just ten minutes after 
Mr. Templeton’s last call. 

“Glad I missed him ! Don’t want to see him any- 
way,” she said, in response to her friend’s amusing 
account of his ardency. 

But just the same, she was a trifle sorry to have 
missed the pleasure of having another talk with 
so fine a young gentleman, whose admiration had 
been becoming so pronounced in his letters, as to 
require much quelling of late. 


Chapter XLIV. 


Mr. Alexander was entertaining a number of 
his most intimate associates in the business world. 

Dinner was over and the guests were strolling 
about the spacious mansion, enjoying the fine pic- 
tures and many works of art which graced the 
home. 

Every member of the party entertained the most 
cordial esteem for their host, and many were the 
encomiums showered upon him among little groups 
of the guests. 

“Alexander is certainly the most fortunate man 
I ever met. What a charming wife he has, and 
such a lovely daughter! Tell you, Rhodes, that 
alone is sufficient to make him what he is,” 
exclaimed one whose nuptial tie had proved a most 
unfortunate venture. • 

“Yes, indeed, ‘fortune favors the brave,’ and 
Alexander deserves it all.” 

“He has been extremely lucky, for not only the 
goddess of Love has bestowed her choicest gifts 
upon him, but he has made a fortune, and done 
so honestly. Actually worked his way to the front 
by his own keenness and unfaltering energy. I 
believe there is nothing lacking to perfect his hap- 
piness. 

“True, few lives hold so much.” 

347 


348 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


This was the life reading of two of Mr. Alex- 
ander’s closest friends, and how it deepens our 
admiration for the heroic soul who had missed 
life’s holiest cup of happiness, yet had locked his 
life sorrow so closely within his own noble heart, 
that his nearest comrades dreamed not of it. 

An animated political discussion was ensuing in 
another part of the drawing room. Mr. Rhodes 
and his friends joined the group. 

“I tell you,” said Mr. Alexander, “our peril is 
great, and I declare it to be my solemn conviction 
that unless purification can be effected in our gov- 
ernment, that the fate of our fair country is sealed 
with a doom that is appalling ! I am not a pessimist, 
but conditions are such that the facts must be 
faced, and the flag of our Union cease to be trailed 
in the mire and filth, if we are to retain down the 
ages, our position of leadership in all that is pro- 
gressive.” 

“I have been greatly perturbed recently by the 
perusal of Lord Macaulay’s speeches. Permit me 
to give you a few sentences that struck a chord 
in my being which vibrates still, because it is the 
alarm which needs to be sounded in our ‘land of 
the free and the home of the brave.’ ” 

“Speaking of the political mechanism of England, 
he says: ‘It has a decayed part, but it also has a 
sound and precious part. It requires purification, 
but contains within itself the means by which puri- 
fication may be effected. Even while I speak, the 
moments are passing — the irrevocable moments, 
pregnant with the destiny of a great people. The 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


349 


country is in danger. It may be saved. We can 
save it , and this is the time ! 

‘In our hands* are the issues of great good and 
great evil, the issues of the life and death of our 
country! We are answerable to our consciences , 
to the memory of future ages, to the Judge of all 
hearts ! ” 

A profound silence followed, until it was broken 
by one of the most brilliant lawyers of the day. 

“We are all mariners tossed upon an unknown 
and unknowable sea, and it behooves the thinking 
manhood of the Nation to pause and consider 
whither are we drifting? What about our individ- 
ual responsibility? How far does it extend? That 
has come home to me of late, and I am glad to 
know that the same feelings have stirred within 
your breast, Alexander.” 

“Exactly, Harry, you’ve struck it,” replied Alex- 
ander, turning to his friend. “The responsibility 
is what has caused me hours of reflection of late. 
How far does it extend? ‘What am I, and whither 
going ; what is my history and destiny ? This mys- 
terious soul that animates me, what is it?’ ‘Am I 
free or subject to inevitable necessity; if free, how 
are all my actions controlled and predetermined 
by a divine Providence? If not free, then how am 
I responsible?” 

“I said it was an unknown ocean upon which we 
sail,” Harry responded, “and none can read us 
the riddle of human life, but to return to the 
subject of our country’s peril. It is well to be 
optimistic. Without it, life would be hopeless. But 


350 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


to close our eyes to the status of the case is mad- 
ness, and unworthy of our citizenship. Lord Mac- 
auley is right. The power lies dormant within us. 
The victory is ours if we are not too heedless and 
lulled by apathy, drift onward toward the mael- 
strom.’ ’ 

A quiet man, who thought deeply, but seldom 
expressed his convictions, added : “Undoubtedly the 
time is ripe for this stirring up of individual respon- 
sibility. You have voiced the feeling within my 
heart, that the best manhood, and by that I do not 
mean the fanatics and cranks, but the thoughtful, 
keen minds which grapple with great problems of 
the day ; in short, the clean backbone of the Ameri- 
can government, needs arousing until the old time 
fire of patriotism shall be stirred into sufficient 
heat to illumine the conscience of our great and 
best citizens, that they may see the danger that 
menaces our republic through their neglect.” 

“True, very true,” said a conservative man, “we 
have become so disgusted with graft and corrup- 
tion of politics, that little by little we are giving 
way to the lawless element, because we find the 
atmosphere too repellant to breathe, and so become 
hopeless of its cleansing.” 

“Well!” Mr. Alexander brought down his hand 
firmly upon the table, “I have resolved that I shall 
no longer shirk the duties of citizenship. But that 
does not imply I am seeking an office. The fact 
is, I will not appear as a candidate upon any ticket, 
but I shall, from now on, work for better men to 
represent us.” 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


351 


“I confess that this dinner party was called to 
announce my reformation, and deep humiliation 
over past neglect. For when our wives and daugh- 
ters are liable to insult in broad daylight, when 
our laws, for which our fathers laid down their 
lives, are despised and made of none effect, I con- 
sider I am being a traitor to the constitution of 
our great Union, if I remain indifferent to the 
imminent peril that threatens from non-enforce- 
ment of law.” 

“Many are calling for better laws. Well and 
good. Let them be the best that can grace any 
statute book. But I am convinced that we must 
prove our ability to enforce our present laws, or 
the time will come when anarchism will cause a 
revolution terrible as that of France.” 

“You are right!” said a number of the party. 
“We need an enlightened conscience.” 

“I repeat it; we must straighten out this tangle, 
or we will be financially and morally brought under 
its domination. I see the coils of the serpent 
stealthily creeping about the courts of Justice, 
arid approaching our greatest American institu- 
tion — the public school. And we men, blind and 
deaf to the situation, take our ease and leave the 
control to two elements, the lawless and the reform- 
ers. And while I do not follow the latter in all 
their agitation, it is my candid belief that in many 
points they are right, and deserve our substantial 
backing, for it is their effort, often most heroic, 
that arouses sentiment and clarifies our vision.” 

Rhodes, with several others, looked critically at 


352 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


their friend as he took this pronounced stand, but 
they all so cordially respected him, that his view 
carried weight, and produced in more than one 
mind, deep conviction. 

Only one of the party ventured to inquire as to 
Mr. Alexander’s regeneration along reform lines. 

“You wonder what has aroused me? I am una- 
ble to answer. I think it not due to any one thing, 
but to a succession of events. I believe it has been 
working within me at intervals, like the leaven, 
and that I am just now cognizant of its presence, 
and therefore can no longer shirk the issue.” 

After more earnest talk, the party broke up, each 
one having received an impetus toward higher 
standards of life. 


Chapter XLV. 


Marshall Allen was at his desk in the bank. He 
glanced at the calendar in front of him. 

“Pon my word ! To-morrow is mother’s birth- 
day and I haven’t a cent to get a present, and 
pay-day is five days off!” 

A bright suggestion offered itself, as appeared 
from the clearing up of the cloud of disappoint- 
ment that had lowered over the usually bright face. 

He turned to his work, but some way could not 
settled to it. He glanced about. Only one other 
clerk was in the room, and his back was turned, 
besides, he was intent upon his task. 

“Now is the time,” said a voice. “Just borrow 
a couple of dollars and you can replace it in five 
days. That is perfectly legitimate, and can do no 
one any harm.” 

But deeper within the caverns of his being some- 
thing said: “No, that looks like stealing.” 

“But it is not to be catalogued thus,” another 
voice answered. “Stealing has a low motive, and 
yours is most praiseworthy. You want to cheer 
your good mother, and you can do it only in this 
way. It is not like taking it for yourself, and if 
you could not return it shortly it would be differ- 
ent. It is the only thing to be done, and now is 
the time. Do it at once before the rest come.” 

353 


354 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Marshall’s training had been almost austere 
along the line of honesty, and never before had 
he been tempted to touch a penny not his own. 
But now the wiliness of the suggestion dazed his 
eyes for a little to the truth. 

“What possible harm can come when I am hon- 
est and intend to repay it?” 

“That is it,” a voice, unheard by mortal ears, 
but to his soul sense spoke clearly, “you will 
replace it; do it at once and cheer your mother. 
Quickly or the opportunity will be gone.” 

Marshall, led on by the dazzle of his mother’s 
pleasure, actually advanced a few steps to the pile 
of bills that lay upon the next desk. 

“It is only a few days, you know,” the urgent 
voice continued, “and you will be more than thank- 
ful you did not let the birthday of your dear mother 
pass unnoticed.” 

But, Marshall,” a soft, sweet voice whispered, 
“Is it right to borrow that which is not your own 
without leave from anyone?” 

“Certainly !” replied the bland voice. “It is your 
duty to comfort your lonely mother. Do it 
quickly !” 

“Listen! Marshall Allen! You are treading the 
ground of a defaulter! Many began just so, 
tempted to borrow a trifle secretly, fully intending 
to return it, and they formed the habit, just as 
many contract that of debt, and awaken ere they 
are aware to the unwelcome truth that their names 
are sullied. Spurn the thought, Marshall !” 

The boy rubbed his eyes as in maze. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


355 


“Great Scott!” he exclaimed, as he recoiled from 
himself. “To think I was so near taking what was 
not mine;” 

Humiliation hung over his spirits all day, and 
not until he had written it all to his mother did 
relief come. 

“I declare ! I feel utterly wanting in self-respect,” 
the boy remarked, as he turned from the mirror. 
“Just like I could not look myself in the face.” 

Marshall was still in the cheap little room, saving 
money to go to the University. He hoped to make 
it by another year. He still kef)t_up his work at 
night school, and was rising because of his good 
principles and perseverance. 

“And to think how nearly I imperiled all !” he 
exclaimed, dejectedly. 

“I never believed I would give a moment’s 
thought to such an evil suggestion.” 

It was several days ere he recovered faith in 
himself. He avoided his friends, especially Mr. 
Alexander, feeling that his keen penetration must 
read his secret. 

“Well, Marshall,” said Mr. Alexander, one morn- 
ing, “I have missed you several days. Come in 
and see me a few minutes.” 

Marshall’s heart thumped mercilessly and he felt 
already disgraced. 

“Marshall, I have come to repose such confi- 
dence in your sterling honesty, that I am going to 
entrust you with a very important errand.” 

Marshall’s face flushed. His conscience smote him 


356 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


keenly. He sank upon the nearest chair and buried 
his face in his hands. 

At length he mastered himself sufficiently to say : 
“Please do not trust me so much, Mr. Alexander ; 

indeed I am not worthy.” 

Then with determination 
not to sail under false col- 
ors, but at all cost to have 
a clear conscience, he told 
the whole story. 

His employer literally 
put his arms around him. 
His heart had never gone 
out so strongly .to any 
young man before. 

“Marshall, you have 
proven yourself worthy of 
my esteem by being true 
and great enough to confess your temptation. And 
because you have suffered so much humiliation, and 
feel so unworthy of my regard — yet were * brave 
enough to tell all — I know you are a conqueror, and 
I love you, my boy.” 

The tears stood in Mr. Alexander’s eyes as he 
tightened his arms about the lad. Marshall, with 
the warmth of his ardent boyish heart, gave an 
answering pressure that did both good. 

He had always loved his employer, but now he 
adored him. He arose with new purpose in his 
face. “I shall be worthy of the honor of your 
trust, sir. That shall be my goal'. I will work for 



A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


357 


it day and night,” he said, as he returned to his desk 
with his old happy heart. 

Mr. Alexander was deeply touched by the story, 
and realized it had all come through an earnest 
desire to cheer his faithful mother. 

He would not spoil the boy’s conquest of him- 
self by offering him a gift, but he would have 
the pleasure of brightening the life of so true a 
woman. 

He penned a few words of appreciation of, and 
admiration for, her son. Words that were more 
precious than jewels of the first water could pos- 
sibly have been to her. Then he asked her to accept 
from him a substantial birthday, gift which he took 
pleasure in enclosing. 

Tears of positive joy stood in his eyes as he 
sealed the letter. 

“Lora is right,” he mused. “I, too, want to do 
some real good in the world ; and if so, it is high 
time I did it. I will see that the mother of such 
a son has a royal gift each birthday.” 

Marshall whistled all the way to his room that 
night, and experienced the high joy that only comes 
from self-mastery. 


Chapter XL VI. 


The trip Mr. Bertram Templeton had taken, had 
not cooled his impatience to become better ac- 
quainted with the bewitching maiden, blit rather 
heightened it. 

Greek lessons and debating societies were much 
interfered with by his abstraction, and he hailed 
Spring vacation as a happy opportunity of pushing 
the conquest. 

Having ascertained that the young lady would 
remain in town, he secured as much of her time 
as possible. 

The night of his arrival, however, it must be 
confessed that Miss Dorothy somewhat dashed his 
ardency. 

Indeed it was not pleasant for so polished and 
sought after a gentleman, to be quelled and treated 
with a light irony. 

Every compliment he bestowed, instead of pene- 
trating the heart of the fair, or bringing a flush 
of pleasure, was met with a proud indifference. 

As he wended his way toward the hotel, after his 
first evening with her, he was thoroughly vexed. 

“If she cannot make a fellow feel like ‘small 
potatoes and few in a hill/ I never saw a person 
who could.” 


358 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


359 


“But she shall drop that proud indifference to 
me, or my name is not Bertram Templeton.” 

“You queenly Rose! I’ll bend your stem yet; see 
if I do not!” 

“She has the figure of a Venus, but is enough 
to provoke a saint, and as I haven’t any such blood 
flowing in my veins, it is exasperating.” 

Next evening they attended grand opera, and if 
Dorothea had charmed him before, her influence 
over him was greatly enhanced as she came into 
the room attired for the evening. 

Perhaps she was more witty than usual, for who 
is not incited to do their best when exhilarated by 
the undisguised admiration of another ? 

Candidly Dorothea was not flirting or intending 
to lead on an enslaved victim. She simply was 
maintaining her dignity while studying the man 
before her. 

She was not a weakling to fall prostrate before 
the first lover who presented himself. Not she ! 

“I glory in her spirit,” he thought, “although 
it is fairly maddening the way she turns me down.” 

A volume was expressed in that me. So far, no 
one had dared resist the handsome senior, who had 
any amount of money to spend upon his lady love. 
Miss Dorothy was a pleasing novelty. 

Dorothea, with true intuition, was reading him 
well. 

“He has led captive altogether too many hearts 
for me to admire him greatly, although I admit he 
can be dangerously fascinating ; but I believe I 
penetrate his nature. I would scorn to hurt a true 



DOROTHEA 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


361 


heart, but his is easily, mended. It is more wounded 
vanity than anything else. He has always stormed 
every castle and carried all before him, and it is 
high time some one took a little of the conceit out 
of him. I shall teach him a lesson. Perhaps, if' he 
is hurt a trifle, he may be more considerate of 
others.” 

This was the view point from which our heroine 
looked upon the man before her. 

As for him, each day he realized more deeply 
that he had met his match. 

He felt she read his very soul, knew all his weak 
points, and despised him for them. 

But the more conscious he became of her dis- 
dain, the more angry he grew. 

He vowed he would not give up the siege, for 
in spite of numerous previous attachments, none 
had so completely enthralled him. 

Thus the vacation week flew by, filled with drives, 
parties, opera, and walks. 

Still, as he boarded the train for home, he was 
obliged to admit himself farther off than ever from 
the goal. 

And in all honesty, we must confess that not 
one compunction of conscience stirred Miss Dor- 
othy’s breast. 

She had enjoyed her power, as every woman has 
done, from mother Eve down the centuries, but 
she had not abused it, for when Mr. Bertram Tem- 
pleton took his departure he knew, although he 
would not admit it to himself, that his fate was 
sealed. 


362 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


She would not keep him in suspense for mere 
pleasure and fascination, so she had made it very 
evident that it was a hopeless chase. 

“I think I have punished him somewhat for the 
way he has toyed with susceptible hearts ; now 
he may go,” she said, as she watched his retreating 
form. 

“Such unparalleled egotism I never before wit- 
nessed ! As if all womankind are going to worship 
his majesty!” 

Dorothea settled down to school life and totally 
eschewed all sentimentality. 

Indeed, all through her University course she 
had frowned upon anyone bold enough to intrude 
upon her attention. 

Yet she was very popular with the boys, who 
thought of her as a true friend and comrade. 

“I worked my way every inch myself, that I 
might come, and now I am here for business. I 
am going through the University, and mayhap 
be sentimental afterward,” she said to some one 
who commented upon her avoidance of all friend- 
ships that pointed to anything serious. 

A worthy resolve, and she had possessed sufficient 
strength of character to adhere to it. 

“I am just afraid Dorothy never will fall in 
love,” remarked one of her girl friends,” she is 
so porcupiny with gentlemen, and keeps them at 
the North Pole.” 

“And I prophesy,” responded one of the older 
girls, “that she will grace a home of her own long 
before most of us do.” 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


363 


“I don’t see how anyone can reach the heart of 
this rose,” said another, “for every approach is sen- 
tineled with thorns.” 

“No ordinary person will, but I believe she will 
be caught unawares.” 

“Time will verify,” answered the unconvinced 
maiden, as she departed. 


Chapter XLVII. 


The Trueman home was ablaze with light, and 
the half drawn curtains revealed a pleasnt com- 
pany of friends. 

It was one of Katherine’s little “at home” affairs, 
in which she was entertaining one of the leading 
musical artists of the city. The company had also 
been specially favored this evening, for Professor 
Van Drummel had brought with him a noted com- 
poser from over the seas. 

All had been charmed by the rendition of some 
very classical pieces. 

It seemed the violin had indeed found its master 
interpreter, as throbbing, soul inspiring music, 
quickened all hearts. 

Professor Van Drummel had received many con- 
gratulations upon his friend’s art, and bowing 
gracefully he seated himself at the piano for the 
closing number. 

The encomiums showered upon the violinist, in- 
spired so much envy in the Professor’s breast, that 
he resolved to conquer the audience and carry off 
the final honors of the evening, so he lost himself 
entirely in his selection, and held all spellbound. 

As the party dispersed, many praises were given 
Professor Van Drummel. 

“Such a courtly gentleman !” 

364 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


365 


Katherine shared the general feeling that they 
were most fortunate in securing so talented and 
refined a teacher as the instructor of their 
daughters. 

Professor Van Drummel’s faultless courtesy had 
gained an entrance into the house of wealth. For 
years he had been the teacher of Lora Alexander 
and many other sweet young girls, whose careful 
parents felt deeply grateful that they could entrust 
beauty and innocence to his care. 

Gladys Trueman was slightly indisposed, and her 
mother suggested that Noble secure something 
from the drug store before retiring. 

“Wait a moment, Professor, and I will accompany 
you,” Mr. Trueman said, as the gentleman was pre- 
paring to depart. 

Mr. Trueman could not define it, but he never 
felt perfect trust when with the admirable gentle- 
man. To-night they walked on, chatting pleasantly, 
and he was mentally upbraiding himself for his 
secret distrust, when suddenly from out a dark 
doorway near the store, sprang a figure, and ere 
they were aware, had caught Professor Van Drum- 
mel by the throat with a deathlike grip, while a pair 
of fierce black eyes, flashed for a moment so that 
Mr. Trueman recoiled from their glare. 

“Ha! I have you at last in my power, have I?” 

The slight figure, for it was a woman’s, flour- 
ished a knife dangerously near, still keeping her 
clutch upon his throat. 

Professor Van Drummel, with one well aimed 
blow, thrust the woman from him, and escaped 


366 A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 

down the street before Mr. Trueman had recovered 
his senses. 

He turned to the prostrate figure and was about 
to assist her to rise, when she looked at him with 
those burning eyes. 

Where had he seen them before? He knew them 
instantly, but where had he encountered them? 

“Are you his friend ?” the woman demanded, “Or 
are you one of those he has deluded as he has 
the rest of us? O that I ever let him go! He is 
a fiend in human shape, a demon clad like an angel 
of light. No, I’m not insane. I am telling the 
truth, so help me God ! Where have I seen you 
before ?” she questioned. “O I know you now ! 
You are Mn Kingsley’s friend!” 

Mr. Trueman started. “Yes, indeed, but who are 

your 

“ Who am If Who? A creature God forgot, a 
human being once, perhaps. I know not what I 
am now, but once I was a little child. And listen, 
that man, your friend, perhaps ? But I pray not, for 
you’re too good to step on such as he. That man 
found I had a voice, could warble like the birds. Yes, 
I sang from morn till night. I was happy then, even 
though I never knew what kindness was from 
anyone but him. He was so good to me. He heard 
me singing and stopped beside the window where 
I sat, a careless child of twelve.” 

“He said : ‘Why, what a voice you have ! I’ll 
teach you music and you’ll charm all hearts.’ I 
clapped my hands for pure delight. He told me 
where to go to take my lessons. I went and he 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


36 7 


taught me every week, and was my only friend. 
I worshiped him as only childhood can adore. 
Listen ! Don’t leave me till I tell you all ; then 
see if / need locking up, or he! For two years 
every week I took my lesson. Oh ! ’tis terrible to 
say to those polite, how he sought in every way 
to conquer my poor little heart. Fie, the only one 
in all the world who showed me kindness. I lived 
and breathed in him! Fie was light itself. Yes, 
all the world to me, and had me so completely in 
his power, I would at any moment have laid down 
my life for his dear sake. Was it so Very strange 
that I yielded up what now I know was worth 
more than life?” 

“Listen ! When only fourteen years, I had a long, 
long illness. I knew not what it meant, but when 
I wakened to full consciousness, I found beside me 
a tiny child. They said: ‘It’s yours!’ and pointed 
at me the finger of scorn, and then I knew all ; 
the horrible truth flashed over me ! And I begged 
for him to come, but he never came! Oh, what 
weary, weary days I waited and watched for him !” 

“Listen, O listen! There’s just a little more. 
After that they called me ‘mad,’ but when all the 
sun went out of heaven and only night remained 
which held no stars, was it strange that I was 
wild ?” 

“For still I loved that man and drooped like a 
broken flower because he came not. I sang no 
more, but listened, waited for him, watched every 
form that passed in vain hope. I heard at last 


368 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


that he had moved away, and then hope died 
within me. Wait, I’m nearly done.” 

“I had a little sister who was bright and good. 
She went to Mr. Kingsley’s and learned so many 
things. They tried so save her from becoming 
like me. I hoped they could with all my heart, 
but one time — when ma drugged me — I turned 
against them and helped drag her back to hell! 
So now I’m doomed — a lost, lost creature !” 

She buried her face between her hands, and 
rocked back and forth in agony. 

Trueman could endure no more and moved 
away, but she detained him. “Wait only one 
moment more, till I tell you all. After I had sold 
my little sister, because I was stupid with drink, 
I awoke to find this man, who walked the streets 
with you to-night, had sent a friend of his to 
buy my little Marion!” 

“ ’Twas not enough that he should blight my 
life, but he must sully little Marion. And how she 
fought! I wonder the great God — you pious folks 
believe in — did not strike him dead.” 

“And now she’s gone ! gone ! Ask him wliere ? 
He knows.” 

Mr. Trueman was speechless with horror. 

“Hattie,” he said at length, “go straight to Mr. 
Kingsley and tell him this. Perhaps he may save 
her yet.” 

“No, I can never face Mr. Kingsley again. He 
hates me as I deserve, for helping Marion to her 
ruin, but God knows I was crazed with liquor 
when I did it, and if any penalty they could inflict 


369 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 

would give Marion back pure as she was, they 
might torture me to death. I’d not complain. 

“Now you know all, but if you have daughters, 
keep them safe from him.” 

She arose wearily and turned away. Only 
eighteen, but bent and wan, a wreck of girlhood. 

Mr. Trueman was so shocked that he found him- 
self at home with his errand forgotten. His 
blanched face frightened Katherine, who was 
already alarmed over his prolonged absence. 

“Tell me quickly,* Noble. You look ill,” she said, 
anxiously. 

“I forgot the medicine, Kate.” 

“Never mind, she is sleeping well, and will not 
need it till morning ; but tell me what has hap- 
pened .?” 

Noble related the whole pitiful tale and Kath- 
erine grew more and more excited. 

“Do you know, Noble, I haven’t felt trustful 
lately when alone with the Professor. A shiver 
went over me several times when he turned my 
music. And only think how freely the children 
have been left with him, and Vera was such a pet 
of his ! It makes a chill of horror strike my very 
soul.” 

Next morning Noble ’phoned for Mr. Kingsley 
to meet him at luncheon, where he told the story. 

Kingsley was thoroughly aroused. 

“We’ll have the bloodhounds of the law upon 
his track before another night.” 

“Two lives are enough to be sacrificed without 


370 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


his being entrusted with all the fairest buds of the 
city.” 

Ere the interview concluded, it was agreed that 
Mr. Kingsley put the affair in the hands of an able 
lawyer, a friend of theirs, who was ever a defender 
of the right, and who possessed sufficient moral 
courage to push the case. 


Chapter XLVIII. 


Mrs. Trueman and Elsie had gone shopping. 
Gladys was caring for Eleanor. 

Two years have 'elapsed since we first peeped 
at the Trueman nursery, and the baby is now three 
years old. Her development has been flower-like 
and beautiful. 

Gladys is lost in the depths of a story book, and 
Eleanor amusing herself with her blocks, talking 
all the time. “If I want a new life, I must be good. 
'Children obey your parents in the Lord for this 
is right/ she repeated soberly, remembering last 
Sunday’s golden text. “But I don’t want to go 
to Heaven ; no, not a bit !” 

Gladys, though deeply engrossed, could not be 
totally oblivious to the last remark. 

“Why not, Babe?” 

“ ’Cause, you see, I’m ’fraid my papa and mamma 
won’t go.” 

“ Why, Babe ! They will go if anyone does,” 
replied Gladys, loyally. 

“Vera can’t go.” Eleanor shook her little head 
while her blue eyes grew larger. “No, her can’t 
go ’cause her wides cows.” 

“O yes ! God ’cused her ’bout that long ago. 
God isn’t hard to please a bit, if you’re awful sorry 
’bout things. He always lets you off then.” 

371 



ELEANOR 




A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


373 


Gladys resumed her reading. Presently she 
heard a sweet little voice in the next room. She 
peeped in and saw Babe standing on a chair near 
the telephone. Gladys waited to see what she 
would do. 

“Hello !” she said, in the softest baby tones imag- 
inable, “Is this Heaven? Is God there? I’d like 
to speak to Him, pease.” 

Another pause. “I’m sorry for all Eleanor’s bad- 
ness. Will you ’cuse her, God?” 

“You precious angel !” Gladys clasped her in 
her arms just as mamma came in. 

“Babe thought she could talk to God through 
the telephone, mamma,” Gladys whispered confi- 
dentially. “Isn't “that funny?” 

A happy light shone in Katherine’s eyes. “No, 
not funny, just sweet;” and she divided the hugs 
between the two. 

Just then Vera came bounding into the room 
with such rosy cheeks and radiant spirits, it was 
a delight to behold her. 

“O mamma! Benjamin Franklin got away from 
the garbage man, who pounded him so one day — 
I saw him do it — and I just yelled, ‘Bravo! Ben! 
Good for you ! Hurrah !’ with the rest of the boys, 
and then we ran about a mile after poor Ben to 
cheer him - on. The man couldn’t catch him, and 
he looked bad words after us. May be he said a 
few, and shook his fist, but I ran as fast as I 
could to get out of hearing his wickedness. So 
I guess it didn’t afifect me any,” she added, seeing 
a serious look on her mother’s face. 


374 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“You see, mamma,” she added, cheerily, “there 
is a bright spot in all your troubles about me, 
and that is that the bad things I hear don’t stick 
to me long. They slide off after a few minutes, 
and I forget all about them and am ready for 
something else.” 

A silence. 

“Aren’t you glad poor old Ben got away from 
his cruel driver, mamma?” 

“Certainly, I am, only I am not sure I like 
to see my daughter racing down the street with 
a crowd of boys, hooting like they always do.” 

“But, mamma,” said Vera, diplomatically, “if 
you only could have seen how cute that horse 
was ! He turned his head and saw the man disap- 
pear around the corner, and then he just limped 
off with a knowing twinkle in his eyes, as much 
as to say : “I’ll show the old fellow a thing or 
two,” and his poor old lean sides just looked 
tickled! I felt so glad for him I just had to cheer 
him on !” 

“I know, dear, and am delighted to have you 
sympathize with the poor old horse, but you are 
growing to be such a big girl to tear madly down 
the street with a crowd of boys for a mile or so.” 

“Well, Mamma Trueman ! Didn’t your feelings 
ever get the better of you, and cause you to shock 
your mother?” 

Katherine felt this appeal strike home. 

“Yes, Vera, they did get the best of me, and I 
understand how you feel; but you have to begin 
some time to be less heedless, and I want to help 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


375 


you so that people will not be disgusted with my 
fly-away.” 

“Oh, I will make them like me, spite of my mis- 
deeds,” Vera smiled confidently. 

“Yes, some people you will, and others will crit- 
icise your mother because she did not train you 
better.” 

Vera sprang to her mother’s side. “If that’s it, 
mamma, I’ll try to be more better.” 

“Ladylike, you mean.” 

“Yes, I shall have to be ” said Vera, with such 
a profound sigh, and a martyr like expression upon 
her merry face, that mamma and Gladys laughed 
outright. 

“You see, Vera, when children are naughty, 
people say: “Well, I think their parents have not 
much control over them, or they would behave 
better.” 

“O dear! Do they?” 

“Why, yes, people always blame the mothers 
when their children act badly. When I see a nicely 
trained child, I think he must have a fine mother.” 

Vera looked sober. “Oh, I wish you would pun- 
ish me some other way, hard, but don't talk good 
to me, mamma; I just can’t endure it! It makes 
me so uncomfortable. Think up some other way 
of correcting me, please. I don’t want to make 
people think you’re to blame.” 

Mamma knew she had touched the right chord 
on Vera’s soul instrument, and the vibrations would 
do her more good than any other method she could 
have chosen. 


376 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Vera went out to the swing with a quiet step 
that meant unwonted thoughtfulness. 

Mamma turned to Eleanor. “What have you 
been doing, Baby?” 

“Playing Daniel.” 

“What do you know about him ?” asked mamma, 
much interested. “Who was he?” 

“O ! he was the Purposer.” 

“The what?” Mamma looked perplexed. 

“Why ‘Daniel purposed in his heart that he 
would not defile himself with the king’s meat,’ ” 
the small lady quoted glibly the Sunday school 
lesson of a few weeks previous. 

Mrs. Trueman drew a quick breath as she gath- 
ered her darling in her arms. 

“Three wonderful little beings to train for life 
that never ends !” she mused. 

“I suppose they are no more remarkable than 
many other children, but they are a perfect reve- 
lation to me, and I am conscious of the need of 
Higher help than mine to guide them.” 

Thus through her happy motherhood, Katherine, 
looking into the pure, earnest eyes of her children, 
was being led to a deeper longing for a higher life. 

Just so in different ways, many are drawn 
upward. “The paths they are many, the end it 
is one.” 

A perfect Teacher is giving each soul, the world 
over, just the right lessons needed to perfect and 
round out character. 

Some look with longing eyes toward such a train- 
ing and environment as found in the Trueman 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


377 


home, while they covet the joys of this happy fire- 
side. But still the sigh, hold back the yearning, 
for over every life with its most difficult lessons 
an angel writes the truism that God knozvs best, 
and gives the discipline needful to perfect the 
symmetry. 

We have a God to see us through our earthly 
pilgrimage ! 

And in such Care, we may be confident that 
everything needful for our best development will 
be given. “All that is for thee will gravitate to thee 
or thou to it.” 

Some may tread a rough and toilsome pathway, 
but some day we will understand, and rejoice that 
a wise Teacher withheld joys we longed for, but 
in the after glow of life, we‘ know would have 
proved detrimental to our soul’s unfoldment. 


Chapter XLIX. 


The Delta Tau Delta and their sister fraternity, 
had been at annual camp just a week, when one 
sultry day, a dusty, travel-stained gentleman was 
left at the door of the summer cottage. 

He paid the liveryman and deposited his belong- 
ings upon the porch, as if he had come to stay. 
He sprang up the steps eagerly. 

“Where has everybody gone ?” he queried of 
the dusky individual, who seemed sole custodian 
of the camp. 

“Oh, they’re off* for a day’s climb up the moun- 
tain, and will not be back till nightfall. Come to 
join the camp?” 

“Yes,” answered the stranger, the pleasure dying- 
out of his face. 

He pulled out his watch. “Only ten a. m. ! Six 
or seven hours to wait at the very least,” while 
his impatience could hardly be curbed during the 
whole journey. 

“Can you tell me which way they went?” 

“I dun no. ’Pears like ’twould be hard to foller 
anybody, wid all dem tracks crisscross. I aint 
gwine to risk sendin’ nobody to ’struction, not 
knowin’ whedder they be prepared, sendin’ dem 
up dat ere mountain. You best lie down and rest 
378 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


379 


a spell. Nice fishin’ over there in dat ere moun- 
tain stream. Day’ll pass ’fore you knowed it.” 

The newcomer looked little pacified, though 
slightly amused. 

“Well, all things can be borne ! I might as well 
make the best of it. Where is some water, Sambo? 
I’ll clean up and look a little civilized, even if there 
are not any ladies present.” 

The ablutions performed, the gentleman strolled 
out and found a desirable seat under a fine old 
tree, and became lost in meditation. 

It was evident his mood was most impetuous, 
for he consulted his watch very frequently, and his 
face betrayed a whole panorama of feelings. 

A light came and went between moments of 
earnest reflection. At times, he whistled the most 
merry of tunes, then lapsed into profound silence. 
Again he paced the path, or stretched at full length 
upon the mossy bank. 

He gazed with admiring eyes at the myriads of 
leaves that formed a canopy above him, while a 
solemn gladness came over him, as if too deep 
for speech. 

Only once did a look of sadness mingle with 
the other tell-tale expressions which flitted across his 
countenance. 

At length the western shadows began to make 
pleasing pictures on the grass, and as he noticed 
them his face brightened. 

But when the sun sank lower, and lower, he 
became more restless than ever. 

At last he heard the merry shouts of the return- 


380 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


ing party, and sprang down the path to meet them, 
as if electrified. 

The surprise was a complete one, for it is need- 
less to say that he was unexpected. The welcome 
was most royal from all save one. Eldah seemed 
stricken dumb with astonishment, for she merely 
bowed and did not extend her hand. 

She escaped to the girls’ tent as soon as possible, 
and happily found it empty. She buried her face 
in the pillows — she was face to face with what? 

Something thrilled deeply within her, that she 
had never experienced before. She felt fettered 
by a strange new power. What was it that moved 
her to the most remote depths of her being? 

A wild throbbing of heart seized her, . till with 
resolute and proud command, she mastered its 
fluttering, made her toilet, and returned to dine. 
A beautiful flush tinted her cheek, and her eyes, 
when not veiled by downcast lashes, revealed a 
new look. 

The group about the table was a merry one, and 
the evening camp fire quite hilarious. 

Only two were often silent while the rest were 
the merriest. 

Just once did their eyes really meet, and Eldah 
withdrew hers the moment she realized where they 
had strayed ; but not soon enough to escape the 
electric dart that seemed to penetrate her like a 
strain of sweet music. 

The party separated somewhat earlier than usual 
because of their hard day’s climb, and very 
shortly the tired mountaineers were enjoying balmy 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


381 


Nature’s sweet restorer. Eldah alone found herself 
awake. 

She knew the coming of the guest meant just 
one thing, and her whole being felt an ecstasy 
undreamed of before. At last she fell asleep with 
a rare expression upon her sweet face. 

The next morning she did not steal out as she 
was wont to do for her solitary walk, for woman’s 
reserve and pride, caused her to shun any seeming 
invitation. 

The newcomer of yesterday, awakened early and 
was out in the morning freshness. He felt the 
exhilaration of the mountain air, he seemed glad 
with a great soul inspiring gladness, and returned 
to camp with a healthful glow and such super- 
abundant spirits, that all who were near caught 
the reflection. 

Eldah was uncommunicative and had only 
addressed him indirectly. Still, whether in his 
presence or apart, she was conscious of some 
strange power taking possession of her. 

She was careful to keep closely surrounded by 
the girls, so that a whole day had slipped by, ere 
her friend had been fortunate enough to snatch a 
moment with her alone. 

All the gentleman had gone fishing, as Eldah 
supposed, so she ventured to stroll a short distance 
alone. She never had longed more intensely for 
solitude, but feared to seek it. 

She was about to seat herself, when around a 
curve in the path, she saw a gentleman coming 
towards her. 


382 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


She felt an insane desire to fly, but the absurdity . 
banished the thought. Besides, it was too late. 

Mr. Kingsley stepped quickly to her side. “Miss 
Homesworth, I have waited for an opportunity to 
see you alone.” 

Eldah wished that she had been sufficiently 
undignified to fly. 

“Will you take a stroll over our dear old path 
with me tomorrow?” 

Eldah maintained her downward gaze, but ques- 
tioned: “At what time?” 

“Any time that you wish. Only say you will 
come.” 

She raised her truthful eyes, but not to his face. 
“Let it be about three, and I will go alone.” 

She was the calm, self-possessed woman once 
more. 

Just then the girls, keen-eyed and alert to notice 
everything in connection with these two, came up, 
and they all went on together. Mr. Kingsley enter- 
tained them with pleasant anecdotes. 

Dorothea was the last to approach. Indeed, since 
Mr. Kingsley’s arrival, she had held aloof and 
refrained most heroically from teasing. 

Anyone capable of reading her, could see that she 
was anxious, almost holding her breath, as it were. 

She stole furtive glances at Eldah, and noted 
every expression of Mr. Kingsley’s face when he 
glanced her way. 

“Miss Dorothy,” he said, as she joined the group, 
“Will you show me the way to the new spring 
you’ve discovered ?” 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS . 


383 


“Delighted to do so, Mr. Kingsley,” and they 
marched off with tin pails keeping time to her 
lively chatter. 

Mr. Kingsley could but admire this wholesome 
girl from the prairie state, with her own breezy 
freshness still clinging to her. 

Then she was Eldah’s friend, and he felt a depth 
in her that few discerned, deceived as they were 
by the fun loving surface. 

Dorothea’s gay manner subsided the moment they 
were alone. She felt he had something of weight 
to say, and wished most cordially to assist him in 
any way that she could ; so she put on her serious 
air and waited. 

“Let us sit here and chat awhile, if you do not 
object?” He seated himself on a log. 

“They are not in any hurry for the water, are 
they?” he asked. 

“No, they will not want it for an hour,” she 
replied, consulting her watch. 

Mr. Kingsley had imposed so severe a repression 
upon himself, that he felt he could bear it no longer.- 
He must say something of it to this trusty young 
woman before him. 

“Miss Dorothy, I have always esteemed it a 
privilege to call you friend. I know that your 
sense of honor is keen ; also your woman’s pene- 
tration has long divined my secret.” 

He paused, waiting for a word from her. 

“Mr. Kingsley, my intuition has indeed read 
your heart, and my sympathy been with you ever 
since we were here two years ago.” 


384 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“Thank you. I felt it, but am glad to have you 
confirm it. Now tell me,” he asked eagerly, “am 
I mistaken? Do you think after all it is hopeless? 
I felt certain of victory yesterday, but the longer 
our talk is delayed, the fainter my heart becomes. 
Tell me, that I may steel my heart for the worst. 
Do you think Richmond has any hold upon her 
heart, or ever. had?” 

Dorothea’s face brightened. “No, he never had! 
' I can put you at rest there. I think Eldah has 
suffered quite as keenly as you have.” 

The earnest man before her seemed to grow 
strong under her words. 

They were silent for a time, each thinking deeply. 

At length Mr. Kingsley ventured another ques- 
tion. 

“Do you think that since she bade him hope 
no more, that she might give a different answer to 
another ?” 

He did not raise his eyes, but said it in deep 
humility, as if it were too sacred a gift to profane 
by any common words. 

Dorothea responded with sweet womanly dignity 
in a low voice, without looking up, “Yes, I think 
she might.” 

“Can you go’ beyond that, and give any greater 
hope ?” 

He looked into her face searchingly. 

Dorothea met his gaze frankly. “I am not posi- 
tive, but I think so. Eldah never confides in anyone. 
I believe, though, that all will be well.” 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


385 


Mr. Kingsley’s heart gave a great surge of 
gladness. 

“Then will you befriend us to-morrow? Keep 
the girls and the gentlemen occupied at a good 
safe distance, so they will not intrude on our talk? 
If you will do this, it will be a service that can 
never be forgotten.” 

A twinkle came back to Dorothy’s eyes, as she 
said mischievously : “I will require the same at your 
hands, sir, if ever circumstances demand.” 

“And you shall certainly have my most cordial 
assistance,” he said, warmly. 

As they neared camp, they began a playful con- 
versation, and when they entered it, none dreamed 
of the serious nature of their talk. 

“If Eldahrema turns him down, I’ll disown her 
for my friend!” asserted the fair damsel, as she 
scrutinized Eldah’s face. “He is noble enough to 
win any woman he might aspire to.” 

“I wonder what I can think up to take the rest 
off until the affair is brought to a happy conclu- 
sion ?” 

“What is the matter with Dolly to-night?” some 
one asked. 

“That is just what I have wondered!” echoed 
several. 

“These spells with her are ominous,” said Ger- 
aldine. “They portend a fresh breaking out of her 
spirits that will be dangerous to surrounding per- 
sonages.” 

“Geraldine is right. It is merely the lull before 


386 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


the tempest. I am just resting for future warfare. 
Tomorrow, my friends, be prepared for the worst.” 

Dorothea strolled out to the tent whence she had 
observed Eldah disappear. 

She found her lying face downward on the bed. 
She laid her hand on hers, but said never a word. 

Eldah did not stir, but felt quieted by her friend’s 
calm, strong presence. 

After a few moments of silence, Dorothea laid 
down beside her. Still neither spoke, but each 
divined something of what was passing in the heart 
of the other. 

“It is about time for supper, Eldah. Are you 
ready?” Dorothea asked, with an unusual tender- 
ness in her voice. 

“When a strong nature grows tender, it is the 
most fascinating thing in the world,” so the proud 
girl seemed to Eldah, as she went out to join the 
rest, with her hand closely clasped in that of her 
friend’s. 

Eldah had always been fond of Dorothea, but 
never had she seemed so bewitching to her as now, 
and she thought with a pang: “How can he ever 
have eyes for anyone else when she is present ? 
She is so blooming and bright, and then her fine 
physique could but attract any one. Perhaps I 
have sent him from me, and now he has turned to 
this bright star.” 

She saw several glances of understanding 
exchanged between Mr. Kingsley and Dorothy 
during the evening, each one causing a peculiar 
sinking of her heart. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


38 / 


She felt no resentment, for her soul was too pure 
and true for hatred to gain an entrance. Besides, 
she loved her friend too dearly for that; but as 
the evening advanced, her spirits sank lower and 
lower, until she excused herself early, having that 
ever available plea of a headache, which too often 
is a convenient cover for the heartache. 

“Why had she been so dull? How extremely 
suited they were to each other ! Dorothy had so 
often taken his part, too, she surely could care for 
such a man as he ! She remembered that he had 
always admired her wit. How happy they looked 
after they returned from the spring. Then how 
strangely thoughtful she was after dinner. Per- 
haps, too, she wanted to tell her the secret when she 
came to her. She was so gentle and subdued, so 
unlike her off-hand self. True, he had asked her 
to go for the walk to-morrow, but they were 
such old friends, he might want to confide to her 
first, his growing feeling for her friend. How 
blind she had been ! But how gratefully she remem- 
bered that she had held herself in reserve, and 
not gone for her usual stroll, or given him any 
inkling of her interest. She would meet the occa- 
sion with dignity to-morrow and not be taken by 
surprise. How glad she was that she had been 
put on her guard. They should never know it 
mattered to her.” 

After many hours of restless tossing, she sank 
into a troubled sleep, so different from the happy 
dreams of the night previous ! 


Chapter L. 


Dorothea laid awake far into the night, devising 
soirte plan by which she could keep the crowd at 
a safe distance. 

“O, I know! We will have a corn roast, and fish 
fry, down by sunset rock. Eldah will slip off and 
not be missed until we are beyond reach.” 

Dorothea was her spicy self next morning, and 
her plan for the day received with a burst of 
enthusiasm. 

At two p. m. a more lively party never set off 
for a day’s outing. The sky was cloudless. Just 
breeze enough to make walking a delight, and 
they had almost reached their destination ere Eldah 
was missed. 

“Of all things ! Where is Eldah ?” exclaimed the 
chaperon, as she looked over her flock of girls. 

“Why, Dorothy, I thought she was with you?” 

“So she was,” Miss Dorothy replied, shutting 
her lips like the Sphinx. 

“Where did she go?” several demanded. 

“Couldn’t prove it by me. She turned off another 
path, and said she would rather study plant life 
than take this long tramp.” Dorothy gave the 
chaperon a look out of the corner of her eye that 
was comprehended. Then she diverted the public 
mind next instant by some of her witticisms. 

388 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


389 


Meanwhile no one had thought of Mr. Kings- 
ley’s absence. It was not until they had settled down 
for the evening meal, that the gentlemen discov- 
ered Kingsley, too, was an absentee. Professor 
Barney and Myrtelius were strangely (?) the first 
to grasp the significance of the missing pair, and 
exchanged glances of understanding. 

But the rest soon caught the situation, all but 
Dorothea, who remained perfectly stoical op the 
subject, and refused to see any connection what- 
ever between the absence of the two. 

The jokes, however, flew round the circle. “We 
will have it in for Mr. Kingsley all right,” said 
the gentlemen. “If we do not roast them good 
when we get back, for playing us this quiet little 
trick, etc.” 

Still, Dorothea was obdurate, and amused the 
whole party by her blindness to the situation. 

“Dixy is among the uninitiated,” some one laugh- 
ingly remarked, “but just wait until her turn comes 
and we will sit up nights, collectively and indi- 
vidually, to pay her for her pranks.” 

Dorothy tossed her head. “You will not have 
the opportunity. I promise you that I shall outwit 
you all when I make the fatal leap.” 

* * * * 

But to return to Eldah. When she left Dorothy 
and wandered down the well remembered path to 
the old trysting place, she felt anything but happy, 
for the shadow that had touched her the night 
previous, did not lift with the dawn of the day. 

Very different were the feelings that animated 


390 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Mr. Kingsley, as he wended his way to the dear 
old spot, and stood awaiting her arrival with a 
heart so full of tumultuous joy, it seemed he could 
hardly breathe at times. 

At last he heard her light step on the grass and 
sprang to meet her. His whole face radiated his 
gladness, and but for her newly awakened convic- 
tion that she had been sought out to be made a 
confidante of, she would have read the truth with- 
out a word. 

But she met him with the dignity of a well 
poised young woman, determined that he should 
not surprise from her the true state of her heart. 
So she lifted serene eyes and asked him with per- 
fect composure : “Am I on time ?” 

Her manner chilled his heart with forebodings. 
After all, had he made no impression upon her?” 

“Yes, but the time seemed too long.” 

Eldah began to talk of a recent discovery in 
science, in which she was interested. 

He listened abstractedly, but still she rambled 
on about so many diverse subjects, that he began 
to fear his golden opportunity would slip away. 

An excellent conversationalist was Eldah, and 
she compelled the admiration of' her hearer, even 
while he fervently wished she would cease. 

•“If he wants to tell me of his feelings for her, 
why on earth don’t he hurry up about it,” thought 
Eldah, impatiently. She was becoming weary of 
the farce, and at length came to a full pause, for 
his eyes were bent upon her so intently as to almost 
compel silence. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


391 


He had led her into a perfect wilderness of 
beauty, a deep glen below them with all the sweet 
wild things of the woods ; ferns, flowers, and mossy 
banks, were near them. 

Though the silence lengthened, neither felt it 
embarrassing, in fact, it was far more restful 
than the forced conversation had been. Their souls 
grew hushed by the profusion of beauty and still- 
ness. 

But the great-hearted man, who had loved 
patiently, so silently for years, could restrain his 
feelings no longer. 

“Miss Eldahrema, I brought you here to share 
a secret that I have long wished to confide to you." 

Eldah came out of her reverie abruptly. She had 
been happy again, sitting there by her friend as 
of old. In the silence their souls were near, but 
his remark recalled the old pain, so she steeled 
her heart accordingly, while her outward bearing 
became somewhat formidable to the eager lover. 

“I must know the worst,” he thought, with sink- 
ing heart. 

‘‘Miss Homesworthl” .Her dignified and unap- 
proachable manner caused him to drop the more 
familiar title. “You surely must have some intima- 
tion of my secret, although I have guarded it care- 
fully.” 

“Yes, I presume I have,” Eldah replied, com- 
posedly, seeing she must assist him, or he would 
never be able to come to the point. “I always 
knew you admired her, but never saw it so plainly 
as since your arrival. I am sure she is fitted in 


392 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


every way to make you happy, and I know you 
will be greatly envied if you are so fortunate as 
to win her.” 

“Eldah! Eldah ! What are you talking of? This 
is certainly Greek to me. Of whom are you speak- 
ing ?” 

Eldah felt a terrific rebound of her heart as he 
called her name, and such a soul bewildering thrill, 
that caused her to feel that she should die from 
a strange excessive joy that pervaded her very 
being. 

Then the blush that enveloped her, told the truth 
to the ardent man who waited before her. 

“Tell me,” he insisted, although almost too 
deeply happy for utterance, “What did you think?” 

Eldah was intently studying a leaf she held in 
her hand, and without raising her eyes, answered : 
“I thought, of course, you had long since admired 
our bright Dorothy, and wished to ask my advice 
about winning her.” 

Mr. Kingsley felt the mist between them rolling 
forever away. 

“So I do admire her; but it was not of your 
friend that I came to speak.” 

He bent an eloquent look upon her downcast 
eyes as he reached over and took her hand. “It 
was for this priceless gift I came.” 

And the old, old story was told again, while the 
floodgates were lifted, the pent-up suffering of 
both gave way at last, and thus “the tempest of 
sorrow met the tempest of love” at the close of 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


393 


the day, and for time, and for eternity, two strong, 
noble lives were blended. 

Love seldom crowns man more worthy, or woman 
more pure. 

With the peace of God lying all about them, 
the beauty of the forest casting its bewitching spell 
over them, the birds caroling love songs above 
them, and a love that had been chastened by the 
Refiner’s fire, and left but a pure flame burning 
in their hearts ; these two rare souls met at last, 
never to be divided. 

No spot could have been more hallowed for such 
a coronation. 

The time passed on wings, and the deepened shad- 
ows warned them that night had come and they 
must return to camp. 

Their walk homeward through the deepening 
cwilight, feeling that blessed oneness of soul, repaid 
for all past suffering. 

It seemed their hearts could endure no greater 
joy, but just before they reached camp they 
paused, and there under the first stars that twinkled 
out, he set love’s holy seal upon her lips — “A kiss as 
long and silent as the ecstatic night, and deep, deep 
shuddering breaths — which meant beyond what 
ever could be told by word or kiss.” 

* * * * 

They hoped to find that the rest had not returned, 
and attempted to saunter into camp as unconcern- 
edly as possible. 

But they were spied, and greeted by the first 
detachment of the attacking party. 


394 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS 


“Bless me! Here they come at last, after caus- 
ing their friends such agony of suspense all these 
hours/’ 

Practiced eyes read the truth instantly. Indeed, 
they might as well have sought to veil the light- 
ning, for the light that was flooding their spirits, 
cast its illumination over all. 

Dorothea felt a transport of joy the moment she 
caught a view of their faces. 

The secret was out, in spite of all the disguises 
they attempted. Deep abiding joy had taken pos- 
session of them, and the majesty of such pure 
love as theirs, penetrated the entire party. 

Even the girls’ voices were hushed after they 
retired to the tent. 

“I declare! I feel just as if I had been at a wed- 
ding,” Geraldine confided to Dorothea, as they were 
disrobing for the night. “Didn’t it seem solemn 
and grand when they came in? And we had cut 
up so much about them and intended to make 
life a burden. It seemed just like a wedding march 
when they came.” 

“Yes, even I felt solemnly glad,” Dorothea replied, 
“and they certainly laid some spell upon us, for 
we all acted awe-struck, and did not make them 
miserable a bit. But we will make up for it later.” 

Dorothea could hardly wait to give Eldah’s hand 
a warm understanding pressure, but she had been 
waylaid by the chaperon, who was greatly rejoiced 
over this happy climax. 

“O, Dick!” she exclaimed, the moment she was 
alone with her husband. “It has come at last ! I 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


395 


began to think it never would. It should have hap- 
pened when we were here two years ago.” 

‘‘There is where I differ with you, Cora. They 
needed the experience, and their love has been tried 
by fire. Their happiness to-night is much greater 
because of these years of waiting.” 

“Possibly, but I do not believe in people who 
belong together, wasting so much time apart,” 
replied the impulsive Mrs. Cora. 

Her husband was larger visioned. “They were 
not ready for this before. I believe these hard 
years have been a means of preparation and unfold- 
ment, and that it is part of the perfect ordering 
of our ways, that the crowning blessing comes into 
our lives at exactly the right moment. I also feel 
that many who are in such feverish haste to hurry 
events of this nature, make the most fatal mis- 
takes of life.” 

“Well, what is the sense of waiting half a life- 
time?” responded his amiable but impetuous little 
wife. 

“Because, my dear, some lives need just that 
discipline, and a Higher Wisdom defers the great- 
est gift until they have mastered their lessons.” 

“You are a philosopher, Dick, and doubtless take 
a more sane view than I ; but all the same, my opin- 
ion is unchanged.” 

And having enjoyed a woman’s prerogative of 
having the last word, she subsided for the night. 


'‘I put my heart to school 

In the world where men grow wise. 

‘Go out/ I said, and learn the rule. 

Come back when you win a prize/ 

My heart came back again — 

‘Now where is the prize?’ I cried. 

‘The rule was false, and the prize was Pain, 
And the teacher’s name was Pride.’ 

“I put my heart to school 

In the woods where the verries sing, 

In the fields where the wild flowers spring, 
And the blue of heaven bends near. 

‘Go out,’ I said, ‘you are half a fool, 

And perhaps they can teach you here.’ 
‘And why do you stay so long, my heart, 
And wherefore do you roam ?’ 

The answer came with a laugh and song: 

‘I find this school is Home.’ ” 


396 


Chapter LI. 


The concluding days of camp life were spent 
in one round of merry making. 

The spell, and awe-struck feeling, which Dorothea 
declared the happy pair had laid upon the crowd, 
soon disappeared, and they were constantly sub- 
jected to numerous assaults. Even Dorothea, who 
had been so firm a champion, now capitulated, and 
in spite of all her grave offices of kindness, led 
on the attacking party whenever they needed her 
valuable assistance. 

“Never had so much fun before in my life!” 
exclaimed Dorothy, as she cast a mischievous 
glance toward the Professor and Myrtelius. 

“Two engaged couples on my hands to concoct 
schemes against, has filled my cup of happiness to 
the brim. I’ll need a dishpan to catch the over- 
flow pretty soon.” 

“If you can enjoy the happiness of others so 
much, what would it be if you were in their place ?” 
asked a young gentleman who was growing rather 
sentimental toward the blooming western girl. 

“O, spare me!” covering her face with her hands. 
“The thought is positively insupportable. Besides, 
I must not delude you into the belief that I am 
enjoying their happiness! Why, sir, I am in the 
height of bliss when making them uncomfortable.” 

397 


398 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“That’s right!” Dolly couldn’t exist if she did 
not have fun at some one’s expense.” 

“Isn’t that rather heartless?” queried the afore- 
said gentleman, who was rather afraid of Miss 
Dorothy’s darts. 

“Oh, I haven’t such an article in my possession, 
so you cannot expect me to have compassion on 
two such interesting couples as they are.” 

“Well, is the difficulty one that cannot be reme- 
died?” he whispered, as he gave her an adoring 
look. 

“No, sir, it is hopeless, for I am convinced that 
should I possess such an organ, it is made of ada- 
mant and impregnable to all the fiery darts of the 
wicked.” 

“I’ll tell you,” said the host, coming up in time 
to hear the last remark, “when Miss Dorothy hauls 
down her flag of unconditional surrender — as 1 
prophesy she will some day— we will celebrate.” 

“With fireworks!” laughingly asked Dorothea. 

“I should say so,” he responded, “for when you 
capitulate, it will be an event to be chronicled in 
history.” 

“Yes, indeed,” exclaimed the merry party, “we 
will, have our revenge !” 

Camp was being broken, the tents were rolled 
up on the ground, hampers of provisions, suit cases 
and wraps, were piled promiscuously together await- 
ing the coming of the carryall. 

Suddenly the clouds darkened the clear blue over- 
head, and almost in a moment, rain began to descend 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


399 


and the wind to blow with such fury that a hurricane 
seemed imminent. 

The party rushed for shelter to the cottage, 
which was crowded to its utmost capacity. 

An hour passed, and the storm, instead of dimin- 
ishing, increased in momentum, nevertheless, while 
the forces of Nature raged without, mirth reigned 
supreme within. 

Noon came and no abatement of the storm, so 
there was nothing to be done but unpack their few 
remaining articles of food, and make their meal 
from left overs, but they afterward declared their 
rainy picnic dinner was the best of all. 

About two p. m. the rain ceased falling, and they 
started on their homeward journey. But they had 
gone but a few miles when the storm came on 
with such renewed force, that they were obliged 
to seek the shelter of the woods. Although, after 
a tree was struck by lightning, and another broken 
by the wind, they decided to hasten onward to the 
nearest village. 

They had left their team on the other side of 
a small stream, which they crossed upon the logs 
that spanned it. But as they approached to return, 
what was their dismay to find that one of the logs 
had disappeared, while the water was rising so 
rapidly that the other was in danger any moment 
of going. 

“We must cross quickly or we are here for the 
night,”, the host said, as he prepared to carry his 
wife over the slippery log. “Hurry up, boys, or 
you are doomed.” 


400 A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 

The ladies were all assisted, with the exception 
of Dorothea and Geraldine, who spurned all offers 
of gallantry, and holding each others’ hands, walked 
over with rather a lofty scorn of their more timid 
sisters. 

Scarcely had the last one crossed, before the log 
moved slowly down the stream. 

“Matters did assume rather a dubious look,” 
even Dorothea confessed, as she saw it disappear. 

They were soon on their way, but the horses 
were not well shod, and found it difficult to keep 
their footing; indeed, one of the four had fallen 
in going down hill, and the driver felt too much 
anxiety to enjoy the spirit of merriment that still 
pervaded the crowd. 

Although the party were thoroughly drenched, 
not a moment did their lively voices cease, and 
when they drove into the village, never had the 
peaceful natives witnessed such an invasion. 

A small house, hardly as large as their summer 
cottage, bore the distinguished name, “Hotel.” 

Here, at rare intervals, travelers on their way 
to the mountains, tarried for the night. But to 
have their tranquility disturbed by such a lively 
party, was certainly an event in' that quiet Rip 
Van Winkle community. 

A college crowd at any time is rather paralyzing 
to the uninitiated, but when dropped down in such 
a plight, it is even more formidable. 

The landlord belonged to that type of individ- 
uals whose cast iron features were never known to 
relax, but even he succumbed under the genial 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


401 


atmosphere these gay young people carried with 
them. 

“Haven’t but one hairpin left in my head!” 
exclaimed Dorothy, letting her gold bronze hair 
down her back. “And my mountaineer hat, so dear 
to my maiden’s heart, (‘You admit to the posses- 
sion of a heart, after all?’ interrupted the gentle- 
man who was ever at her side. ‘No, I don’t!’ she 
paused to answer), has disappeared down the. 
stream of Time, that we had so much fun in cross- 
ing. But that is but a meager portion of my woes. 
The colors in my dress have all run. I am, in plain 
English, a total wreck, and have met with such 
irretrievable reverses of fortune, that I doubt if 
my own parents would recognize their offspring.” 

“Supper !” roared out the landlord, whose vocal 
powers were evidently running opposition to the 
thunder which crashed unpleasantly near. 

The repast was but a frugal one, but they were 
ready to do justice to anything set before them, 
without questioning its quality. 

The resources of the hotel being inadequate to 
the needs of the party for the night, they decided 
to resume their journey. 

“We certainly cannot get any more cold than 
we have,” said the chaperon, “so we better get 
home and into dry clothing as quickly as possible.” 

It was the general verdict, so they went on, and, 
after leaving the foothills, made rapid progress, 
arriving at home just at midnight’s holy hour, 
arousing the slumbering inhabitants by their toot- 
ing horns and college songs. 


402 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Again camp life for another season was over, 
and they all felt, in spite of their adventurous trip 
homeward, that it had been the best of all their 
good times, for had there not been a thrilling love 
story brought to its climax ! 

They rejoiced over it, in spite of their efforts 
to make the happy pair uncomfortable. 

To Mr. Kingsley and Eldahrema, the time will 
ever be regarded as the beginning of Paradise, 
and no spot on earth will seem so sacred as their 
woodland summer home. 

Nature had indeed taught them many lessons, 
but they had now caught her innermost secret. 
Bending their ear close, they had heard her whis- 
per: “Love, love, my children,” an they loved! 


“The story of humanity is a story of heavenly 
purposes and powers continually obscured and 

thwarted by earthly passions and shames 

And even the Christ has not drawn aside the 
veil upon the face of life. ... So it comes to this : 
Whether we look for God in the wondrous earth, 
or in the more wondrous human story, or in the 
sacred Book, or in one who gathers up the deepest 
meanings of all these into himself, day by day 
longings arise in our hearts to know as we do 
not know and to see as we cannot see.” 


403 


Chapter LII. 


lhe able and efficient lawyer in whose hands 
Professor Van Drummel’s case had been placed, 
lost no time in pushing it to the finish, and upon 
Mr. Kingsley’s return, he was summoned to appear 
in court the following day. 

In a hasty glance about the court room, he did 
not at first discover Hattie, but when their eyes 
met at length, she shrank from his gaze. 

The proof was so strong, the testimony so clear, 
and, by a strange and happy Providence, the jury 
non-purchasable, that in spite of Professor Van 
Drummers lawyer, the case was evidently going 
against him. 

But the attorney relied much upon his client’s 
magnetic power, and gentlemanly bearing, in influ- 
encing the jury, and turning the tide in his favor. 
So when he was given an opportunity to refute 
the charges, or bring any proof he might to clear 
himself, he arose with a smile most winsome, and 
faced the audience with assurance. 

“What a shame ! Such a fine man !” exclaimed 
many of his admiring friends, who crowded the 
gallery. 

Loud applause greeted him, until the Judge com- 
manded silence. 

Professor Van Drummel bowed and smiled at 
404 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


405 


his friends. He was a shade paler, but otherwise 
was perfectly at his ease, and so self-possessed 
that each moment as he proceeded with his defense 
he was winning more to his side. 

Kingsley, Trueman, and their lawyer, betrayed 
anxiety in every feature. 

“He certainly possesses that dreadful satanic 
power to 'smile and smile and be a villain still/ ” 
whispered Kingsley to Trueman. 

Then something unusual happened. 

Poor Hattie had sat there entranced under the 
spell she always felt in his presence. Now she 
arose, and ere anyone was aware, appeared at his 
side. 

The Professor had not noticed her among the 
sea of faces turned up to his, and he paused aghast. 

Hattie did not utter a sound; indeed, she had 
never been so controlled as at this moment. 

She stood there silently looking up into his face 
with the most touching expression of hopeless love 
and sorrow that could be depicted upon human 
countenance. 

Then she turned to the Judge: “May I speak?” 
she asked, in such a subdued and pleading voice 
that the Judge could not refuse. Besides, he felt 
that this was the turning point of the case. 

“Granted!” he said, in almost a tone of tender- 
ness, for the girl’s pathetic expression had soft- 
ened all hearts. 

“Listen!” she spoke in a quiet tone that was 
far more effective than any tragic outburst would 


406 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


have been. “As there is a God in Heaven, this 
man is false to the core of his heart!” 

“Every word said to-day of him is true. For 
my own sake, whose rose of innocence he has 
stolen, I would be silent; but my little sister’s cries 
come to my ears in a way that drives me to the 
verge of despair.” 

“This man and his friend decoyed her away, 
although her soul was as pure and true as any 
little child’s in your beautiful homes. It is for her 
sake, I say: Give him the full penalty of the law!” 

She addressed this to the jury, every word of 
which rang conviction through their souls. 

The girl cast one glance at the Professor, and 
then, overtaken by her old infatuation, turned 
once more to the audience: “I detest him for the 
wreck he has made me! I feel utter hatred for 
the one who has ruined my Marion ! Rut oh, alas, 
alas, this is woman’s heritage, I love him still!” 

Her last words rang out with a thrill that stirred 
every heart, so full were they of passionate love 
and hopeless despair. 

She quitted the stand amid profound silence, 
more sane than she had ever been since the great 
wrong had touched her life. . 

When the Professor sufficiently recovered, he 
determined to win back the popular favor he had 
recently enjoyed; but the Judge forbade him a 
word, and the jury returned after a brief retire- 
ment with the verdict — “Guilty!” 

The hush was deathlike. It was indeed a con- 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


407 


signment to the tomb of oblivion one whose sway 
over people had been marvelous. 

The star of his manhood, which gave such prom- 
ise of fame, had set forever. 

This man of great talents had ruthlessly squan- 
dered his substance, and when he had reached the 
very pinnacle of success, found swift retribution 
upon his track. 

But a few weeks ago, a most welcome guest in 
the best homes. Today, ostracized ! 

Mr. Kingsley was determined to reach Hattie, 
but she evaded him and disappeared in the crowd. 

“We must surely trace Marion now,” he said 
to Trueman. 

Their attorney gave them this bit of informa- 
tion. Hattie had sought an interview with him 
and sent the following message to Eldah from 
Marion : “Tell her it is of no use to seek me now. 
She is an angel in Heaven, and I have taken my 
first step towards hell, and we are forever sepa- 
rated 1 /’ 

The two gentlemen were filled with deep sorrow. 

“Poor little girl ! I am sure she was brave to the 
last, and that she made every effort to reach her 
friends.” 

Mr. Kingsley was overcome. 

“One only out of thousands, my friend,” replied 
the lawyer. “Many a girl, pure as a snow drop, 
is trapped, and makes heroic efforts to escape the 
hounds of hell.” 

Trueman’s fine sensibilities were shocked 

“Let us go home, Kingsley. I’ve had all I can 


408 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


stand of this tainted atmosphere. Good God!” he 
exclaimed reverently, “how long!” 

Mr. Kingsley could think of nothing else but 
Marion and her message. “I cannot tell my Eldah 
that,” he said, as they stood waiting for a car. 
“She adored that child. It would nearly break 
her heart.” 

“No, I should not tell her,” Mr. Trueman replied, 
just as a well dressed man came down the street, 
half supporting a very young girl who could 
hardly have walked unaided. 

Mr. Kingsley caught a glimpse of her face for 
one instant only. The couple had passed them 
and the man was hurrying her along. 

Kingsley rushed after them, Trueman following. 
As he caught them on the crossing he called : 
“Marion! Marion! O little Marion! Is it you?” 
The man with her turned livid in hue. A dull look 
of recognition came for a moment into the girl’s 
face; then she lost it, and answered thickly, as 
though she were heavily drugged : “Take me home, 
Jim. My head aches so.” 

This scene was being enacted on the crossing 
of One of the busiest thoroughfares in the city. 
Traffic teams were in danger of crushing them. 
The policeman hurried part of the crowd on and 
forbade the rest crossing. Thus Marion was again 
separated from her deliverers, for by the time they 
could cross, the man had put her into a cab and 
told the driver to whip up his horses. But Mr. 
Kingsley had never lost sight of them for an 
instant, and they sprang into another cab that hap- 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


409 


pily stood at the curbing, and succeeded in follow- 
ing them for some blocks, now and then losing 
sight of them, but never entirely, and after reach- 
ing the more quiet streets, driving slowly and as 
if unconscious of them. 

The man with Marion, evidently was thrown off 
his guard, when their cab passed and did not offer 
to molest them. 

From the rear window of the cab, Kingsley and 
Trueman, saw them stop before a beautiful flat 
building, and watched him carry the half insen- 
sible girl up the steps and disappear. 

While feeling an intense desire to rush in and 
demand the poor child, they still sought to curb 
it and proceed sanely. 

They drove slowly back and took the number, 
stopped long enough to telephone that they would 
not be home for the dinner hour, then found a 
trustworthy officer. This consumed an hour of 
precious time, but they felt positive they would 
return with the child. 

Mr. Kingsley was white with suspense as they 
searched the house; the officer demanding to see 
every inch of room from garret to cellar, and sta- 
tioning Trueman and Kingsley at different points 
to guard every avenue of escape. Still no Marion ! 
The landlady showing them the suite of rooms 
they had occupied for two months, and stating upon 
her oath, that just half an hour previous, the man 
had paid her, and taken the girl and gone, bag and 
baggage. 


410 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


So another pure young life had been sacrificed 
upon the altar of man’s baser nature. 

Too awful to contemplate, but unless an awak- 
ening comes to secure better protection for girl- 
hood, it may be any of the fairest flowers of the 
home. 

Your boy, with his fair brow that bears the 
mark of truth and high endeavor; your girl, with 
her winsome sweetness, may be the victims. 

Several years ago a home for disabled seamen 
was in flames. The fire escape did not reach to 
the top and the ladders were too short. The case 
was hopeless. Pitiful in the extreme was it to wit- 
ness the men gathered at the windows, begging for 
rescue. 

Suddenly a young man dashed through the 
crowd, grasped a ladder, and made his way with 
it to the top of the fire escape. Then, raising it over 
his head until it reached the window where the men 
were assembled, with the strength of a giant, he 
braced it, and stood there while men and boys 
made their way down the ladder over his body, 
and by an act which made all England ring with 
his praise, saved every one! 

Say not that heroism is dead. 

The best manhood the world over, is capable of 
just such heroic deeds. 

But not a few seamen stretch pleading hands to 
you, but the thousands and thousands of the fairest 
buds of womanhood. Innocent prattling childhood, 
in its stainless purity, appeal to all that is noblest 
in your breast. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


411 


Must tzventy thousand young girls be sacrificed 
yearly in every large city, and the clean, pure, think- 
ing manhood of our nation raise no protest? 

Will not this true story of Hattie’s, and little 
Marion’s, reverberate through every reader’s being, 
until each resolve to do all in his or her power to 
shield and protect the future fathers and mothers 
of our nation from this terrible blight? 

‘‘It is time to be brave, it is time to be true; 

It is time to be finding the thing you can do. 

It is time to put by the dream and the sigh, 
And work for the cause that is holy and high.” 


Chapter LIII. 


Dorothea was standing near her window enjoy- 
ing a rare treat. 

Her heavy studies and editorial duties left little 
time for general reading, but having a few moments 
before going out to the oratorical contest, in which 
she was to participate, she picked up a book and 
was soon lost in its perusal. 

“The universe, I say, is made up of Law; the 
great Soul of the world is just and not unjust. 

“Look thou, if thou have eyes or soul left, into 
this great shoreless Incomprehensible, into the heart 
of its tumultuous appearances, embroilments, and 
mad Time vertexes. Is there not silent, eternal, an 
all just, an all beautiful, sole Reality and ultimate 
controlling power of the whole ?” 

Dorothea read this aloud and paused to consider. 

“Yes, Carlyle, there certainly is a ‘Reality and 
ultimate controlling power of the whole.’ ” 

“I wonder if I must stumble blindfolded as he 
did before I grasp the truth?” 

Faith comes naturally to some natures, — mother’s, 
for example; but I must always weigh and con- 
sider, must go back to the beginning of things, and 
that often puts me in a maze. 

I am glad that I am a reasoning being, though, 
for I enjoy probing into first causes.” 

412 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS . 


413 


The bell rang, and Geraldine and some of the 
girls came in. 

“Ready to go, Dixie? Thought we would have 
time to chat a little while.” 

Dorothea closed her book and descended at once 
to the level of the everyday. 

Later, when Dorothea Maddox took her place 
upon the platform, some of her very best friends 
felt uneasy, for although she had a decided talent 
for oratory, it was practically undeveloped, and she 
was to compete with those whose training had been 
of the best. 

“Why didn’t she choose a funny selection?” 
whispered several; “she certainly would do better 
at something on that. order.” 

But Dorothea had been somewhat grieved in 
spirit, because the set in which she moved had 
always relegated her to the light and trifling. 

“I will show them I am capable of something 
deeper than surface,” she said, determinedly, as 
she caught their disappointed glances when she 
began her subject. 

It was not an oration such as students are wont 
to astonish their admiring friends with, not the 
burning eloquence of Henry Clay or Webster. 

She had eschewed these, likewise shunned the 
poets, and decided to give something that had 
throbbed within her own brain and fairly panted for 
expression. 

“They will never believe it is mine,” she thought, 
while writing it, “but it is time that I showed the 


414 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


public I am capable of doing something more than 
make fun for them. ,r ~ 

Everybody was eager to hear what the sprightly 
girl had to offer them. , 

“I have chosen for my subject the most incom- 
prehensible, inexplicable, non-explainable one that 
can be considered. 

“One word compasses it, but you will admit that 
a multiplicity of words cannot explain this unfath- 
omable and greatest of all human mysteries. 

“The brightest intellects from the earliest dawn 
of Time, and down the aeons, have given up the 
problem. 

“And as we stand in the glorious light of the 
twentieth century, with all the intellectual vigor of 
an enlightened and progressive people, we find the 
same inability to grasp the true status of the sub- 
ject, and are still confronted by the same perplexity 
and bewilderment, when that unsolved and unsolv- 
able enigma is presented to the world — Woman!” 

She was greeted by a storm of applause. Her 
friends were reassured, she would be her enter- 
taining self after all. 

But after securing this good hold upon her audi- 
ence, she led them up to the highest, holiest view 
of womanhood, and from that high altitude she 
widened their outlook, deepened their respect, and 
caused even the most shallow among her listeners, 
to feel the dignity, the graciousness, and the power 
that is the heritage of every true woman. 

A high ideal was held up, but made so human 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


415 


as to put its possible attainment within the reach 
of every aspiring soul. 

She sat down, having left an impress which was 
destined to be lasting upon the mind of many a 
young woman present. 

Several fine speakers followed, and Dorothea, 
having given out her best, now felt certain of fail- 
ure, as one after another charmed the audience. 

The prize was the annual one of fifty dollars in 
gold. 

Dorothea had worked hard to go through school, 
and had come up to the close of her senior year 
entirely unaided. 

She was a splendid specimen of what a country 
maiden can attain, who possesses sufficient push and 
perseverance. 

The contest was an exceedingly close one, and 
the judges were compelled to announce a tie. 

When the names of the fortunate contestants 
were read, Misses Geraldine Rowe, and Dorothea 
Maddox, were awarded first prize. 

Geraldine gracefully stepped to the front of the 
platform, and with a pretty bow, accepted her por- 
tion of the prize. Then, ere Dorothea could do 
likewise, she turned to the audience : “To-night 
we have all been touched in the depths, by the 
original and masterly oration on womanhood. We 
have had glimpses of the possibilities which lie 
withi'n our reach, and because this young woman 
has exemplified it in her own life, and proved what 
a determined girl may accomplish, it gives me the 
keenest pleasure to say that I most cordially relin- 


416 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS . 


quish my portion of the prize to one whom I feel 
has fairly and justly earned the entire sum.” 

Stepping to Dorothea’s side, she laid the shining 
gold piece in her hand, while a storm of applause 
shook the building. 

The audience continued to cheer wildly until 
Dorothea stepped forward, and with a gesture si- 
lenced them. 

“While deeply appreciating the magnanimous 
action of my friend, it is impossible for me to accept 
so great an honor when the judges deemed it not 
wholly mine.” 

She bowed graciously, while the gentleman who 
had made the presentation stood perplexed. 

“Here is an example,” he at length aptly 
remarked, “of the truth of Miss Maddox’s state- 
ment. What shall I do in this bewildering situa- 
tion, with not only woman in the Abstract to deal 
with, but in the Concrete also? One of them is 
admitted to be inscrutable mystery, but what of 
two?” (Great applause.) 

The judges had retired to discuss the matter and 
go once more over their estimates; They were men 
of honor, and would not change their markings to 
fit the case ; but it must be confessed that it was 
with genuine pleasure that they discovered an omis- 
sion of a fraction, which carried the prize rightfully 
to Dorothea Maddox. 

“Ah, this is certainly a happy avenue of escape !” 
exclaimed the master of ceremonies, as the note 
was handed him. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


417 


“I take great pleasure in announcing that there 
was a slight error in the summary, and the prize 
rightfully belongs to Miss Dorothea Maddox,” and 
he handed it to her amid tremendous applause. 

Dorothea had vindicated herself and proven to 
the world that she was deeper than the wit and 
nonsense with which she entertained them. 

She had really won, and was happy accordingly. 


Chapter LIV. 


Commencement week, with its excitement, was 
nearly over. The seniors were enjoying a pleasant 
flutter of spirits, and now the last and most event- 
ful day had arrived, bringing parents and admiring 
friends. 

The large class of two hundred young men and 
women, formed a pleasing picture, as they marched 
around the auditorium. The girls were charming 
in their white dresses, while the gentlemen were 
fastidious enough to impress all favorably. 

Myrtelius’ long years of strenuous toil were 
about to be rewarded, and as proof of the high 
esteem in which she was held by pupils, as well 
as teachers, not one in the class but felt she had 
earned the position of valedictorian. 

As she stepped forward to deliver her oration, all 
became conscious of a look of special exultation. 

The scholarly production called forth a round 
of applause. At its conclusion, Professor Barney 
led her to the front of the platform. The Dean 
of the University stepped in front of them, and, 
ere the audience were aware, had caused them to 
join hands, and in a few words, the marriage cer- 
emony was performed. 

Then, amid the most astonished throng, the hon- 
ored professor led down the aisle the happy bride, 
and they were driven away in a carriage before 
418 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


419 


the people had fairly recovered from the shock of 
so tremendous a surprise. 

When they did, the students could be no longer 
restrained, and they gave cheer upon cheer for 
Professor Barney. 

“I never heard of anything so startling in college 
life !” exclaimed Geraldine to Dorothy, as they 
rolled homeward in their carriage. 

“Now, own up. You were surprised, too, were 
you not?” 

“Well, it is certainly safe to assert that Univer- 
sity circles never had a greater shock. Even when 
the diamond appeared, hardly anyone outside of 
our fraternity, suspected that the affair was one of 
such official importance.” 

“Well ! well !” exclaimed several members of the 
faculty, “they certainly were adroit and played a 
clever trick upon us.” 

“Every wedding, says the proverb, 

Makes another, soon or late; 

Never yet was any marriage 
Entered in the book of fate, 

But the names were also written, 

Of the patient pair that wait.” 

As Mr. Kingsley escorted Eldah homeward, he 
brought a lovely rose color to her cheeks. 

So, in the midst of Life’s sorrows, it is much 
to know that there is a beautiful love abroad in the 
world, and that some are destined to drink from 
this divine cup, although others may be given 
myrrh instead of love’s wine, yet “God will hold 
the balance true.” 


Chapter LV. 


A peep into the Alexander mansion shows it 
most brilliantly lighted, yet no party of any conse- 
quence is in evidence. 

In the parlors the family are assembled, and for 
the first time in months, seem to be enjoying a 
social evening together. 

Mrs. Alexander is her entertaining self, and 
seems unusually devoted to “Alexander the Great/’ 
for at one time she stopped at his side, and stroked 
his hair, her lily-like hands lingering lovingly amid 
the dark locks that now had a suggestion of silver. 

Mr. Alexander looked happy, and put his arm 
about his wife, as she stood near him. 

“This is the happiest birthday I have had in 
years, Marie,” and he smiled at her admiringly. 

“It has been the happiest time I have known, 
too, for a long while,” she answered. 

Some power almost supernatural seemed upon 
them to-night. 

She was still toying with his hair. “Alex, I wish 
that we could have more good times like we have 
to-day.” 

He looked deeply into her eves. “Do vou. really. 
Marie?” . 

She smiled her answer. 

“Then we will !” He gave her hand a warm clasp. 

420 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS . 


421 


Lora, Ned, and Thad, were playing games near. 

Even Ned seemed to catch the pleasant spirit 
abroad in the home, and came out of his apathy 
and selfishness occasionally. 

The evening wore away, and after the rest had 
retired, Lora lingered for a last good-night talk 
with her father. She sat upon the arm of his 
chair and they talked more deeply than ever before. 

“Lora, once you asked me if I knew about ‘the 
One who walks the furnace fire with us. I have 
learned a little about Him since, and I believe it 
is all true. The conviction has grown within me 
slowly, but surely. 

Perhaps it is due to my mother’s prayers — or 
some other’s; but anyway, I have felt a strange 
influence upon me for several years.” 

And then he told her of the refrain that had so 
strangely touched his heart, and whose spell lin- 
gered so long. Also of the gifted speaker whose 
words had so taken hold of him. 

“Lora, I am still a man of the world, and not 
what church people would call religious ; but I feel 
differently about these things, although I am not 
sure that I could mention this to anyone but you.” 

He bade her the usual tender good-night, and 
Lora went to her room comforted, for it had been 
so beautiful to see her father and mother spending 
the evening so happily together. Then her father’s 
words made a deep impression upon her earnest 
young soul. 

“O, I am so thankful papa knows it is true ! Now 


422 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


he will have help in his ‘furnace fire/ and I shall 
learn about the ‘fourth Form/ too/’ 

Great tranquility of spirit was Lora’s, as she 
sank to slumber, murmuring: “Oh, I am so glad 
papa knows it is true !” 

Mr. Alexander had caught a new view of life 
upon this memorable birthday, and had decided to 
make it a red letter day for others. 

Among other things, he had mailed a handsome 
check to Marshall Allen’s mother; likewise pur^ 
chased a scholarship in the University for Marshall. 
Indeed, he had been very busy and happy, doing 
many kindnesses to those about him, so at the 
close of the day he felt a quiet peace. “It has been 
a white day,” he thought. 

As he entered his room he heard again the words : 
“If any man will open the door, I will come in.” 
He stood for a moment absorbed in thought ; then, 
dropping into his comfortable chair, he said: “I 
feel that the door is opened. I was not conscious 
of the process, I do not know when it was done — 
but I seem open to all good influences.” 

He gazed thoughtfully at a picture Lora had 
given him today. It was a wonderful Figure clad 
in white, stilling the storm tossed sea. 

Mr. Alexander seemed fascinated by it. 

“Yes, He has certainly been calming my tempest 
tossed sea of late.” 

He leaned his head back upon the chair, and 
smiled, a rare, sweet smile. “Ah ! I hear that sweet, 
sweet voice again, just as I heard it in the din of 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


423 


city and whirl of business — ‘He will keep me till 
the river rolls its water at my feet ! ” 

He closed his eyes and slept the sweet sleep of 
childhood. 

* * * * 


Morning dawned. The earth was dressed in her 
fairest hues. The family arose late, with the excep- 
tion of Lora, who had been out for an hour in 
the delicious freshness, and now answered the 
breakfast bell with sparkling eyes. 

All were gathered about the table, including lazy 
Ned — except the head of the house. 

“Ring Mr. Alexander’s bell,” Marie said to the 
servant. 

They waited several moments. No answer. 

“Papa is never late. I will see what is wrong,” 
and Lora sprang up from the table and flew to her 
father’s apartments. 

There he sat with the same smile upon his face, 
apparently in sweet slumber ; but the river of Death, 
had indeed “rolled its waters at his feet,” although 
the illumination of his countenance disarmed Death 
of its terrors. 

“Papa ! papa !” called Lora, never dreaming of 
the truth. 

For the first time in her life, there was no re- 
sponse to her loving call. 

She made every effort to arouse him, and when 
at last the terrible truth flashed over her, she fell 
senseless to the floor. 


424 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Search the world over, and it would be difficult 
to find a more sacred and tender bond of pure 
affection, than existed between this father and 
daughter ; yet this most precious tie had to be sev- 
ered, and the child learn to live on, when all that 
made life sweet had fled. 

Why? why? God knoweth. Therefore “in the 
darkness of thy woe, be thou still.” 

This is a life reading, and that we may have 
courage to live in spite of those heart-breaking 
sorrows, and may find in the bitter dregs of the 
cup that our Father gives us, His sweet, all suffi- 
cient peace, is one of the messages of these pages. 

* * * * 

A few days later, at one of the most fashionable 
churches, a vast audience convened to do honor 
to one of the city’s most leading men. 

Perhaps few in the business world had won and 
•held so many prominent people as their real friends, 
so the sorrow was widespread and deep. 

Among the elegantly dressed throng that crowded 
the church, was a lady of refined and dignified 
bearing, clad in pure white, who sat near the family 
pew. 

Evidently she was a stranger to all about her. 

A student of human nature would have been 
much interested in watching the varying expres- 
sions that came and went in her sweet, pure face. 

A look that was fairly luminous shone in her 
eyes. Deep peace was there, and, at times, a joy 
that seemed not of earth. Only when her eyes 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


425 


wandered to Lora’s bowed head, intense suffering 
replaced the look of exultation. She leaned forward 
at such moments as if she^ could hardly restrain 
herself from taking the suffering girl in her arms, 
and she seemed to gain self-mastery only when she 
looked away from Lora, and her eyes rested upon 
the casket. 

As the friends passed by for a last look, she 
paused one second* and rested her dainty white 
glove near the head; a mere touch, one swift 
glance in which sorrow, peace, and joy mingled, 
and she passed down the aisle with a step that 
almost seemed like a bridal march. 

She was driven to the cemetery, but remained at 
a distance during the ceremony; nor did she even 
go in sight of the grave until every person had 
gone. Then, with a springing step, she went straight 
to it. In her hands were bridal roses and maiden 
hair ferns. She bent tenderly down and laid them 
on the grave. 

“For all eternity, your ozvn, beloved !'■’ she said, 
with a face that seemed transfigured with light. 

This her reward, after a lifetime of patient wait- 
ing and sorrow? 

Only a grave after all her self-denial, her purity, 
and high sense of honor ? 

She had held her soul high above wrong. Her 
life had been given out entirely for others, and 
now she had — only a grave! 

But true love is deathless, many waters cannot 
quench or floods drown it. And over this grave 
the bow of promise shone clear. Above her head 


426 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


a little bird suddenly began to warble its vesper 
hymn, “singing as if God had taught it.” “It is 
better farther on !” 

She moved toward her carriage, and glancing for 
a last look at the loved spot, she saw the little bird, 
her messenger of hope, sitting upon the grave, still 
singing. 

“Sits upon the grave and sings it,” she murmured 
softly. 

“Sings it when the heart would groan, 

Sings it when the shadows darken — 

It is better farther on” 


Chapter LVI. 


A year has passed since the close of the last 
sad chapter. Lora, her mother, and the boys, were 
again at their summer retreat. 

Lora had insisted that she had rather go there 
than to any other place in the universe. 

She had lost little time in renewing her walks 
by the cottage. A powerful attraction seemed to 
draw her to the spot, and at last one day she encoun- 
tered its mistress. 

The lady stopped when she saw the girl, and 
turned a shade paler, while tears arose in her eyes. 

“Would you like to come in and rest awhile in 
my rustic retreat?” she asked, as she led the way 
to a secluded nook at the rear, where a summer 
house, embowered in roses, beckoned them invit- 
ingly. 

“O, how beautiful !” exclaimed Lora. “I have 
always admired your house so, and longed to know 
you,” raising her sweet eyes to the strong face 
above her. 

“And I have longed to have you right here in 
this very spot with me!” responded Theodora. 

“Oh, have you?” asked the girl, eagerly. “How 
did you know about me?” 

“I have seen you pass often, and then Eldah 
Homesworth told me of you.” 

427 


428 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Lora looked the gratitude she felt into her 
friend’s face, for she knew they were friends. Her 
soul told her so. She felt some way a rest come to 
her tired young heart for the first time since her 
sorrow. 

All through the sad year, Theodora’s heart had 
gone out in deepest sympathy to the lonely child. 
It was all she could do now to control herself and 
refrain from taking her — his child — in her arms. 

“Not yet,” she said. “I must wait a little for 
that, but it is a pre-destined friendship, hence 
divine.” 

The hour passed so quickly Lora could hardly 
realize its flight, and ere she departed she had prom- 
ised to end her walks often at the cottage. Thus, 
little by little, the friendship grew, and each began 
to feel a new interest in life. 

Theodora did not mention the sorrow, but indi- 
rectly, with tender, tactful touch, gave the child 
comfort, and every day Lora looked up more to 
the gracious woman. 

Mrs. Alexander’s hopes for her only daughter 
began to revive, for Lora had drooped ever since 
her father’s going, but now, although still sad, an 
awakening seemed coming to her. 

The shock had sobered the society leader, and she 
certainly missed her gallant husband ; still the 
world had so long held first place in her affection, 
that she could not grieve as Lora did. 

She spent much of her time spoiling her favor- 
ite child, whose manners were becoming so over- 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


429 


bearing that he had few, if any, friends outside 
his fond, doting mother. 

Under the care of Lora, and with Marshall’s 
influence still strong upon him, Thad was climbing 
to better things. 

Marshall had left the bank and passed a cred- 
itable year at the University. 

He had felt most keenly the loss of his beloved 
employer, and had accepted Thad as a sacred trust. 

He wrote to the small boy every week, and man- 
aged to see him very often. 

One day, shortly before Lora’s return to her city 
home, she had an unusually fine talk with her friend. 

Lora had mentioned the young men who were 
at the hotel, and sometimes haunted her steps. 

“They all tire me dreadfully, and I want to run 
away when any of them come near me. Mamma 
thinks that I am foolish. I have no doubt I am, 
but there isn’t one in our set that I enjoy.” 

Theodora felt her opportunity to help the girl. 
“Lora, I hope you will never be tempted by posi- 
tion to marry one you do not love with all your 
soul,” looking at her with a pained expression, as 
if she had spoken out of the depths of a deep expe- 
rience. 

“I hope that you will come in contact with the 
nobler side of manhood, and see the contrast. These 
weaker ones are so much beneath you in high 
standards of living.” 

A blush tinted Lora’s face for a second. Her 
friend, gifted in the study of the human face, read 
the truth. 


430 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“The child has already met one she deems worthy, 
and looks up to,” she thought. 

She put her arms around the girl, so young, with 
life all untried before her, so lovable, and so very 
dear to her. 

How tender she felt of the child who had just 
crossed over into Womanhood’s undiscovered 
country. Her own experience had made her quick 
to shield others from these vital mistakes. 

“Lora, remember this : 

That unless you can muse in a crowd all day, 

By the light of a face that fixed you ; 

Unless you can love as the angels may, 

With the breadth of heaven ’twixt you. 

Unless you can feel that his faith is fast 

Through years of separation — 

Unless you can trust his love to the last, 

Oh, fear to call it loving.’ ” 

Lora nestled in the kind arms that held her, she 
felt such a refuge in the heart of this understanding 
friend. 

“I do not know how I shall do without you !” 
she said, looking lovingly up into the dear face. 

“We will write, and you will come out often for 
a little visit ; and remember, dear, I am always 
near you in thought, and whenever you are weary 
of the world, come to me.” 

Theodora gave vent to her long pent-up feeling 
for the child, and folded her closely to her heart. 
She seemed his legacy to her, this precious daughter 
he had so idolized. 

Lora was surprised at the intensity of feeling 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


431 


her friend betrayed, for she was usually so poised 
and reserved. 

“How did it happen that you love me?” ques- 
tioned Lora. 

“Sometime you will know ; I cannot tell you 
now,” she answered, with the loveliest smile Lora 
had ever seen, upon her face. 

So the Comforter spake peace to these sorrow- 
ing ones, and in divine compassion, implanted within 
their hearts a friendship, that was destined to be 
sacred as a sacrament all through their earthly pil- 
grimage. 


Chapter LVII. 


Dorothea spent a busy and profitable year after 
finishing the University. She had been very suc- 
cessful in magazine articles, and her journalistic 
ability duly recognized. 

Now the event of her life was about to occur. 
She was to be sent for a trip through the Rockies 
and the Selkirks, as the correspondent of one of 
the leading dailies. 

She stood upon the doorstep of the old home 
the morning before her departure, looking over the 
dear old landmarks of her childhood musingly. 

Except for her trip to the eastern city where she 
received her education, this wild rose had seen 
nothing of the world. 

She thought how she had herded the cows a few 
years since, and of the wild rollicking girl who 
could ride bareback the most unmanageable horse, 
of her care free happy days with her good mother 
and sturdy father. 

“And is it possible that the country maiden who 
never expected to see anything of the world, or go 
anywhere, is to witness the grandeur of the moun- 
tains ?” 

“I feel this trip is going to change my entire 
life. My going away enlarged my horizon, and 
gave me a mental range I could never have attained 
432 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


433 


here. Now, what an opportunity this will afford 
for development! Life is a succession of steps, one 
thing leads to, and prepares us for the next. I 
could not have appreciated this trip a few years 
ago as now. I want my soul swept clean of cob- 
webs, that I may receive all that is for me, and 
when I come back to thee, dear childhood home, 
may it be with the pure, trusting heart of a girl, 
yet the fully developed powers of a woman, clear 
brain and well poised character. I desire to have 
done with this fitful, irresolute being that some- 
times controls me, and really climb in purpose, as 
well as in actuality — ‘God’s heights of power,’ as 
Eldah calls them. So when I descend, it shall be 
to live out the high born thoughts gained from a 
wider outlook.” 

Dorothea joined a personally conducted excur- 
sion, but was a stranger to them for a brief time 
only, for her original remarks soon attracted atten- 
tion. As usual, her merry nature was uppermost, 
for it always seemed impossible for her to give 
utterance to her nobler thoughts, so but for snatches 
from her journal, we would get little of the real 
girl. 

* * * * 

“Just hemmed in by mountains on every side! 
The most fantastic shapes ! I should think that God 
would run out of patterns.” 

“ ‘Infinity ! infinity !’ runs through me with an 
awe-inspiring thrill. God is the Mighty Architect. 
‘His hands formed the dry land.’ ” 


434 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Then with childlike simplicity, “O I am proud 
of you, God ! I never felt such pride before, my 
remarkable God!” 

This from Dorothea. Truly we but “see through 
a ^lass darkly,” when we sit in judgment upon one 
another. 

The party had stopped at a charming villa upon 
the mountain side for several days of sightseeing. 

Dorothea had wandered away from the rest to 
commune with solitude. She felt the freedom of 
isolation and voiced her inner thoughts. 

“My prayer is that the strength of the mountains, 
also their steadfastness, may enter in and become 
a part of my being.” 

The superintendent of the party, with another 
gentleman, came up just in time to catch the last 
remark. 

Surprised at the sudden intrusion upon her quiet, 
her exalted look vanished with lightning rapidity, 
and she turned about and faced them, with such 
a mirthful expression — as she held up some moun- 
tain flowers she had just gathered — that the intrud- 
ers could hardly realize their ears had not played 
them a trick, in overhearing such lofty aspira- 
tions from the lively looking young lady who now 
confronted them. 

Still, the second gentleman was positive of his 
correct hearing, and he gazed at the young lady 
with interest. 

People of real worth soon tire of an unceasing 
round of wit, however fascinating it may be for 
a time : but when they discover a depth of char- 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


435 



436 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


acter back of the sparkle, it becomes a most inter- 
esting study. So it seemed to the gentlemen as 
they escorted the young lady back to the hotel. 

“Allow me to warn you not to stray too far 
^lone, Miss Maddox,” said their superintendent, “I 
fear for one of your daring nature, and there is 
real danger of becoming lost in some of these rocky 
defiles.” 

“Thank you, but I have taken excellent care of 
myself, lo these many years! Mr. Towner, and 
never lost myself yet !” she exclaimed, with spirit. 

After she had passed into the hotel, the two 
friends exchanged glances. 

“Did you hear what she was saying when we 
came upon her, Rochester?” 

“Yes,” the gentleman replied, “and I felt like 
a villain to intrude upon her solitude and hear what 
did not belong to us. It was a shame !” 

. “Perhaps, but I am not sorry, for it gave me 
the keynote to the girl. I never suspected her capa- 
ble of such sentiments.” 

“I did,” thought Roderick Rochester, as he 
strolled on alone, and seated himself upon a rock 
facing some grand old firs. 

At his right was the most perfect evergreen 
mountain that can be imagined. Not a break of 
a foot in its symmetry and grace. 

“This wonderful wall of granite at my back, 
that overhanging cliff, the waterfall, all proclaim 
the marvelous skill of the Creator. It seems to me 
an infidel must worship in such a profusion of won- 
ders. The young lady is right, and I, too, want 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


437 


the grandeur of these sights to permeate my being 
until I keep it forever in the heart of my soul.” 

Dorothea was surrounded by a lively group when 
Roderick Rochester returned to the hotel. He heard 
them laugh at some of her bright sallies. “But I 
read her better than any of them,” he thought, with 
secret satisfaction. 

This party of people had proved to be a most 
choice one. Teachers, physicians, lawyers, writers, 
were among them, and many were the contests of 
wit, and delightful conversations held on all sides. 

All travellers have experienced the same : “Such 
splendid and unusual people as we met upon our 
trip !” and the wonder arises as to whether our 
travelling companions are really so superior to our 
comrades in the daily routine? Is it not that in 
escaping from the commonplace, our better selves 
are in the ascendancy, and we are more receptive 
and appreciative than when hurried and worried 
by the daily fret of life? Methinks, just as fine 
characters walk the daily path with us, but we are 
too dulled by the pressure of care to fully value 
them ; then we are too reserved to show our highest 
self to those dearest, so the soul hides away, and 
often gives strangers, glimpses it would not show 
to its closest associates. 

Dorothea was charmed by the dashing, dancing, 
tempestuous stream, as it whirled and rushed madly 
on over the rocks. Winding in and out, disappear- 
ing, only to reappear when you were certain you 


438 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


had lost it. It was the kinship of soul between 
herself and the stream, that made her love it so. 
She was like it in her ever varying moods. It spake 
to her thus: “Take into your life my animation, 
my purity, my depth, and give out to others the joy 
and sparkle of my life.” 

Mr. Rochester was the editor of one of the larg- 
est of eastern magazines. He was busy with his 
pencil as they sped along the shining track. “Here 
are grand old monarchs of the forest. Many of 
them have looked upon several centuries, while men 
appeared and disappeared in the arena of life, they 
gazed down with majestic pride. Just here they 
have been marred by forest fires, and stand gaunt 
and black against the blue of heaven, the only 
blight upon the fair landscape. It is sad to see 
these wonders of former ages thus destroyed ; still, 
I get a glimpse of the distant mountains which I 
could not obtain otherwise. I wonder if humanity 
must sometimes be nearly consumed by the fires 
of adversity, that some other portion of it may 
obtain a higher view that was obstructed from 
them ? I do not want to be burned out, rather let me 
fall in all glory and strength of manhood, like that 
grand oak yonder, than live to be inert like these 
dead firs.” 

“The mountains are becoming more magnificent, 
I am satisfied — ” an eloquent look came upon his 
face as he gazed at the overhanging cliff — “with 
the grandeur of the Creator.” 

“If one feels incapable of worship, let him go 
among the Selkirks; and if they do not teach him 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


439 


to bow the knee before their sublime and awful 
greatness, if they do not compel his obeisance, it 
is my opinion there is some mental defect.” 

“We are passing quiet beautiful Lake Griffin, 
Here the railroad is forced into the mountain side, 
because of the lake-filled valley. ,, 

“The reflections are perfect, in this emerald mir- 
ror set between imposing mountains. Wonderful 
rock walls rise almost perpendicularly on one side. 
‘The mountains are God’s thoughts piled up,’ some 
writer has said. What stupendous thoughts, then, 
are these !” 

“And now we reach the Illecillewaet River, a 
boiling, seething stream, and it is interesting to 
see the mountains and the river contesting the right 
of way. On either side immense cliffs and won- 
derful cuts in the mountains, our furious stream 
plunging madly this way and that, out of sight a 
moment, then dashing into view again, as if deter- 
mined to conquer.” 

“The message of the stream is potent for human 
life. ‘To him who will conquer, he may!’” 

“Going through the sublimity of the Selkirk 
range, I feel that a Divine Hand is showing me all 
the kingdoms of the earth and the glory of them.” 

“Noble firs fill the valley, and the river goes 
to a depth of three hundred feet below the rail- 
way. Now it is furious and roars like a grand cat- 
aract.” 

“Sir Donald lifts his hoary head. Language 
faints before his glory, and that of the marvelous 
canyon we are passing through.” 


440 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Dorothea had no merry jests during this por- 
tion of her trip. She could not even write. “I did 
not want a word spoken,” she said afterwards, ”1 
just looked, and looked, and looked again, until 
my soul seemed literally to part company with my 
bodily tabernacle. I was stilled away down in the 
depths of my unsatisfied nature. It seemed that 
every crevice and pore of my being was penetrated 
by the Almightiness of the Author of these sublimi- 
ties. Even a savage must have felt their stupen- 
dous vastness and bowed in reverence.” 

How parallel were the thoughts of these two. 
Will they learn the kinship, or will their lives but 
barely touch and then be whirled apart to meet 
no more upon this plane of life? 

To travel together three months among the grand- 
est scenery upon the continent, is often to become 
better acquainted with one another’s real ego, than 
in years of quiet living on at home.. In such close 
quarters, one becomes quite aware of the foibles 
and peculiarities of his neighbors, even though each 
is usually at his best. 

While the party halted at one of the most fas- 
cinating places of beauty on their route, it was 
decided to form a “Good Fellowship Club.” Mr. 
Roderick Rochester was chosen President, and Dor- 
othea Madeline Maddox, Secretary. Mr. Roches- 
ter’s cultured bearing had easily won the place. As 
for Dorothea, who was more ready with pencil than 
she? 

Mr. Rochester, or R. R., as his friends called 
him, found the duties of his position far from 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


441 




442 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


irksome. It is true, they required some hours of 
consultation with the Secretary, that he would have 
otherwise spent upon magazine work ; but he 
seemed singularly willing to sacrifice his leisure for 
the general good. 

Mr. Towner, the Superintendent, also found it 
important to advise with the fair Secretary, until 
it became quite a natural and expected thing, to 
see the three planning together. 

Dorothea thought little of it. Having been asso- 
ciated with gentlemen in school life, she accepted 
these attentions as devoid of sentiment, and simply 
enjoyed the mental stimulus of sharpening her wits 
against these two bright intellects. 

One afternoon Mr. Towner and she were so 
busy with their schemes for the general good, they 
did not perceive that the rest of the crowd had 
disappeared. 

“If for no other reason, I am glad of the Club, 
for it gives me an opportunity to converse with you, 
Miss Maddox.” 

Dorothea had been lost for a moment in the 
beauty about her, and the remark recalled her with 
startling force. 

“O dear ! Is he going to turn sentimental and 
spoil our good times,” she thought. 

“I must return to the hotel. I have some work 
unfinished,” she said, as she arose, ignoring his 
last remark. 

The gentleman was too well bred not to feel 
his compliment was unwelcome, so he discreetly 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


443 


changed the subject as he followed her down the 
path. 

“What a dignified woman she is ! Pretty nothings 
that so many girls like, do not go with her,” he 
thought, as he admired her stately figure. 

Mr. Rochester saw them approach from a retreat 
of his, but did not go forward to greet them. 
Instead he took out his MS. and began to be very 
industrious. But the thoughts that usually came 
with such fluency to his pen, strangely retreated, 
and presently he dropped his work and was lost in 
meditation. 

In this study of life tints, “I resolve one by one, 
when I pick from the mass 
The persons I want, as before you they pass — 
To label them broadly in plain black and white 
On the backs of them. Therefore, while yet he’s 
in sight, 

I will label my hero.” 

Left an orphan at an early age, his guardian 
placed him in a home school for boys, from which 
he escaped, because its severe restrictions chafed 
his independent spirit. Embarking as a sailor boy, 
he made several voyages to different parts of the 
world, and — 

“From many strange mouths heard many strange 
tongues, 

Strained with many strange idioms his lips and 
his lungs, 

Walked in many a far land, regretting his own; 

In many a language groaned many a groan,”— 


444 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


till at last, feeling a burning desire for knowledge, 
not obtainable in travel, he returned to America, 
sought out his guardian, and by his winning ways 
regained his favor. 

His brilliant mind led his friend to insist upon 
a law course, but after going through Harvard, and 
gaining admission to the bar, he found court life 
so repellent, that, much to the displeasure of his 
friends, he quitted the profession, and emigrated 
to the broad, free West, soon finding himself at 
the head of a large newspaper establishment. His 
success was marked from the first. He won favor 
everywhere because of his pleasing personality and 
natural brightness. 

Two years ago he had been offered the editor- 
ship of one of the most popular eastern magazines. 

His changing life had given him diverse experi- 
ences, and his many sided nature been developed. 
So now, at thirty-two, his powers were beyond the 
ordinary. 

His friend, Mr. Towner, had given an enthusi- 
astic account of R. R.’s success. 

“He is a capital fellow, the most companionable 
I ever knew, a rare story teller, and never one from 
him that would bring a blush to the purest woman 
in the land. He has had all kinds of thrilling 
adventures and hairbreadth escapes, and to hear 
him tell them in his inimitable fashion, is fas- 
cinating. He is an expert horseman, and his arti- 
cles upon bronchos would upset the gravity of the 
most solemnly inclined. Yet he can go from the 
ridiculous to the sublime in a second, and he is 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


445 


never preachy, but every one knows his life rings 
true and that he is non-purchasable.” 

He is certainly fascinating,” replied a young lady 
listener, who had often sought to entrap their gifted 
President in her snares. This girl was not the 
only one who cast envious glances at Dorothea. 
“I don’t care !” exclaimed one, revealing by her 
tones the opposite, “It isn’t fair that Miss Maddox 
monopolize both of the leading lights.” 

“Allow me to differ from you,” said a fine look- 
ing lady. “I am sure Miss Maddox has no thought 
of monopoly in this case. She attracts by her spon- 
taneity, and there is nothing premeditated about it." 

“Well, I should think that one such attendant 
would be enough to gratify anyone,” added another 
maiden of the green-eyed persuasion. 

“She is too sincere to trifle with a man for the 
fun of it,” returned the lady, warmly, for Dorothea 
was becoming a favorite of hers. 

“Don’t you think Miss Maddox is flirting?” 

“Assuredly not,” the lady replied, “but I am 
certain, when she really falls in love, she will give 
the fortunate man a merry chase, ere she surren- 
ders:” 

The dinner hour closed the conversation. 


Chapter LVII. 


The closing remarks of the last chapter were 
overheard by Mr. Rochester, for, unconscious of 
his presence, the speakers had strolled on until 
they stopped for the final words of the conversation 
just on the other side of his retreat. 

The thick bushes near them stirred slightly, and 
he escaped unobserved. 

When he had walked some distance he stopped 
to think it over. “So she will give a fellow a merry 
chase ! Fair lady, I believe you read her correctly.” 
He pulled out his watch. “It is now four p. m., 
August 2d. I place it upon record, that if the 
indomitable castle is to be taken, from this hour 
I lay siege to it, and if it requires a lifetime, I shall 
conquer !” 

“But I imagine it will have to be surprised ; 
therefore, I will guard against any outward betrayal 
of more than ordinary interest; in fact, I have 
rather avoided than sought her during the whole 
journey.” 

The breeze played caressingly with his dark 
locks. “She is worth the homage of a lifetime. 
The die is cast!” And having formed this resolve, 
he marched back to the hotel with determination 
reflected in his whole being. 

The first person he encountered was the young 
446 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


44 7 


lady herself, but he barely glanced at her as he 
passed. 

If the truth must be told, Dorothea missed the 
pleasant greeting he usually accorded her. The 
things just out of her reach always held a peculiar 
charm to one of her contrary nature. So she went 
into dinner, somewhat vexed in spirit, although she 
had no conception why. 

Everything passed off gaily. She had a ready 
answer to every question. All were gracious to her, 
but Mr. Rochester did not appear all evening. 
“What if he don’t ! I am sure it’s immaterial to me !” 
she said, as she stood by one of the windows, look- 
ing at the snowy peaks touched with moonlight. 

* * * * 

For a full week as they journeyed onward, she saw 
little of “R. R.” She was busy writing, and absorb- 
ing the glory. 

At their next stop of a few days, she longed 
to escape the maddening crowd, and stole away for 
a little climb up the mountain. She carefully noted 
every curve in the path, and felt sure she could 
retrace her steps. She drank in deep breaths of 
the pure ether, and so enjoyed the freedom. 

“On this height where the purple morning break- 
eth !” she soliloquized. 

But what was it ! A terrible crashing sound 
above her, as if the whole summit of the moun- 
tain was coming down upon her. She sprang to 
one side, just as a huge boulder came tearing madly 


448 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


past her and plunged with frightful velocity down, 
down into the deep gorge below ! 

All the color fled from her face, as she realized 
the terrible danger from which she had escaped. 

“That meant instant death to everything in its 
path !” she said, shudderingly, for trees and shrubs 
had been splintered into nothingness, as it sped by 
with awful force. 

She knew not how long a time had elapsed, before 
she was startled by the rustle of the bushes, and 
heard a step. 

She was not susceptible to fear, but the experi- 
ence through which she had just passed, somewhat 
unnerved her, though she arose and looked for- 
midable enough to repel the most daring intruder, 
wondering what fate held in store for her next. 

“O thank heaven !” exclaimed Mr. Rochester, as 
he caught a glimpse of her. He was pale with 
excitement. “You were right in the path of the 
boulder. It is nothing short of a miracle that you 
escaped !” 

He sank down exhaustedly, as if from prolonged 
search. “We have been looking everywhere for 
you,” he explained, as soon as he recovered his 
breath. 

Dorothea was conscious of a feeling of pleasure. 
It seemed worth the adventure to be the cause of 
such solicitude. She sat down and they said never 
a word, each content to gaze in silence at the won- 
ders about them, while language seemed paltry 
when they considered the escape. 

After some time spent most enjoyably in this 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


449 


way, Mr. Rochester asked: “What does that peak 
yonder remind you of, Miss Maddox?” 

“Of this,” she replied : 

“Peopled and warm is this valley, lonely and chill 
the height ; 

But the peak that is nearer the storm cloud, is 
nearer the stars of light.” 

“That is a most beautiful thought. People who 
dare to climb, must encounter danger, and incur 
suffering, and those whose natures are the deepest, 
are usually less understood by the world.” 

“Oh, do you think so?” 

She turned and looked at him as questioningly 
as a child. 

He read her wistfulness in that glance, and as 
for Dorothea, she felt for the first time in her life, 
thoroughly comprehended. 

“That peak recalls Lowell’s thought to my mind,” 
he continued. “Each hath his lonely peak, and 
on each heart, envy, or scorn, or hatred, tears life- 
long with vulture beak. Yet the high soul is left, 
and Faith, which is but hope grown wise. And 
love and patience, which at last shall overcome.” 

He seemed to have the right word, and helpful 
thought that fitted her need. 

The quotation he had just given brought her 
courage. 

“Yet the high soul is left,” she mused. “It seems 
we must take that with us when we return to the 
common everyday level, ‘and love and patience, 
which at last shall overcome.’ Perhaps there is 


450 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


hope, then, for one of my impetuous, wayward 
nature, and dove and patience’ may yet overcome 
my rebellious self.” 

Not for an instant did any double meaning attach 
itself to her words. She only felt encouraged that 
she might yet conquer some of the things within 
herself. 

But he thought of her words again and again. 
“She was artless as a child, but dove and patience 
shall at last overcome even spirited, unconquerable 
Miss Dorothy !” 

She sat in silence, still thinking of the possible 
attainments of womanhood, and that she desired 
to gain self-mastery over some things in her nature 
that were ever at strife. 

The uplift of their talk, had given her a new pur- 
pose. 

“It is worth while to ‘seek, to strive, to find, 
but not to yield / ” she said at length, with high 
resolve shining in her eyes. 

They wended their way back to the anxious 
party below, who gathered about them quite breath- 
less with excitement, as Mr. Rochester brought in 
the prodigal. 

“Any fatted calf in evidence? I thought you 
would surely have one, or at least a chicken,” 
Dorothea laughingly said, between answering the 
excited questioners. 

“We were frightened to death about you,” 
exclaimed several, “and everybody looked glum as 
tombstones.” 

“Mr. Towner was nearly beside himself!” said 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


451 


the young girl of the crowd, who followed Dorothea 
like her shadow. 

He came up now with his face wreathed in smiles. 

“Well, well, this is a relief! I am fearful you 
are not yet entirely to be trusted with the care 
of yourself, in spite of your strong protestations 
to the contrary. But allow me to congratulate 
you upon your remarkable escape. Rochester has 
just been telling me of it.” 

“Oh, Dam like the cat which possesses nine lives ; 
besides, I am not a victim to early piety, so there’s 
hope for me.” 

Her laugh rippled out with a blithe gladness. 
It seemed to come from a deep fount within that 
just bubbled over with delight. 

“I don’t know why, but I never enjoyed a . day 
so much before in my life,” she thought, as she 
bade the stars and mountains good-night. 

She arose early, for the sunrise, and her soul sang 
gloria patria, as she watched the exquisite flush 
of pink deepen into wonderful tints and colorings. 

“Surely I can never be contemptuous and petty 
again, after being up here where God dwells !” 
she said, reverently. “I feel as if these snowy peaks 
are his castles, now He is lighting up each turret 
and tower. I think all of the angels are busy flash- 
ing the heavenly light out over the world.” 

“I feel just hushed up like a child, and ‘the ten- 
derness that is in the midst of the Almightiness,’ 
is in this awful vastness, and it is caring for, and 
will help me, become a truly symmetrical char- 
acter. I do not believe I shall ever be restless 


452 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


again, I feel so strangely heart glad, and in place 
of strife within, I feel peac eful like I never expected 
to until I am old or dead.” 

“Up, up, into more grandeur !” she writes in her 
note book: “Expand my finite mind, great Master 
Builder ! that I may take in Thy marvels.” 

Truly the girl’s unfoldment had been rapid during 
her stay among these mounts of vision, and each 
day found her more still and content. 

R. R. never sought her out apparently. Their 
talks seemed to come by chance, and to be im- 
promptu, but he made every one count. 

They talked of the real things of life, and with- 
out having the least conception of the truth, the 
girl was beginning to miss something out of her 
life- when their strolls were omitted. 

Mr. Towner found many plausible excuses for 
conversation with Miss Dorothy, and in conducting 
the party sightseeing, it was noticeable that he was 
very particular to explain the most minute details 
to her. 

For a whole week, Mr. Rochester had absented 
himself, busy with his MS. — presumably. Some 
way he had no fear when he saw her returning 
from some glorious climb with Mr. Towner, or 
some other gentleman of the party. 

“That castle shall be mine ! I will never retreat !” 
he vowed, as he saw her sitting a moment alone; 
but he did not seek her, merely bowed in passing. 

“I don’t care! He might have sat down a min- 
ute. We have not had a talk for a whole week. 
But I don’t care ! It is a matter of supreme indif- 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


453 


ference to me” She curled her lips disdainfully, 
as she threw some pebbles over the canyon. Down, 
down, they rolled. It recalled the boulder. "I sup- 
pose we never will have another talk like that; but 
I don’t care. Such only come a few times in a life- 
time, and I would not want them to be common” 

“There comes Mr. Towner! Now, why does he 
have to haunt me? It is getting to be so I can 
hardly stir. I don't want to talk to him! I will 
have to freeze him out.” 

“Ah, this is a happy opportunity, Miss Maddox. 
May I share this solitude with you?” 

“Well, frankly, I came here for isolation, Mr. 
Towner,” said the honest girl. “I presume it is 
unconventional for me to tell you so, but I never 
was known to do things the proper way.” 

“Certainly; I will not intrude upon your quiet,” 
he replied, with perfect good humor, as he bowed 
his adieu. 

“Dear me ! Why cannot one be comfortably 
friendly with a man? You have to like them just 
so hard, or lose their friendship. I thought I never 
would be vexed again ; thought I was really becom- 
ing devout up here in this high altitude. But I 
am restless, and I thought that quelled forever.” 

Dear child. She did not realize that she was 
missing the quieting touch of that other soul who 
so comprehended her. 

Several more days slipped by ere Mr. Rochester 
appeared conscious of her existence. Then he 
brought her a woodland offering of some mountain 
berries and ferns. He also drew from his pocket 


454 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


a package of letters. “You are one of the fortu- 
nate beings this time, Miss Maddox. Eight letters!” 

“Oh, thank you!” she said delightedly, as he 
handed them to her and delicately withdrew. 

Not since his resolution to conquer, had fear 
crossed his mind until now. 

“She looked very happy over those letters ! One 
was from a gentleman, and it was the thickest of 
all. I fancied her face lit up specially when she 
came to that. I would like to hurl it and the 
sender down the gorge,” he said, as a dark cloud 
settled over his face. 


Chapter LIX. 


Vancouver was reached, and they left the cars 
for the floating palace that lay at anchor awaiting 
their embarkment. Dorothea was in wild spirits 
over her first trip of any distance upon the water. 
She explored every part of the boat, and amused 
the passengers with her outbursts of enthusiasm. 

Mr. Towner found it quite as difficult to keep 
his eyes upon her here as among the mountain fort- 
resses. She was on the upper deck with her field 
glass much of the time, allowing nothing to escape 
her. 

She remained on deck quite a while one evening, 
and Rochester could deny himself no longer. He 
appeared at her side as naturally as if he belonged 
there. More and more it seemed they understood 
each other’s silence, and it rested them just to be 
together. Conversation was superfluous. The one- 
ness of feeling and the comprehension of each other 
was sufficient happiness for the time being. 

“It was awful !” she said, at length. “I use the 
word advisedly — among the mountains ; awful sub- 
limity! What is it here on historic Puget Sound?” 

She had never heard him sing before, and for 
answer, he sang in a fine baritone : “There’s a wide- 
ness in God’s mercy like the wideness of the sea.” 

Dorothea did not look at him, but she felt his 
power. 


455 


456 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


After a long pause she remarked : “I did not 
know that you were religious, Mr. Rochester.” 

“I hardly suppose I am, Miss Maddox ; but I 
confess to you, my belief in these things, and I 
should like to understand them better, and know 
the Author of all these wonders.” 

Danger is near the impregnable fort, Dorothea, 
for when two people find such a similarity of taste, 
and oneness of feeling, Cupid may be close with 
his fiery darts. 

She said no word about her own aspirations, for 
had he not voiced them? 

She had previously been looking acrossed as to a 
social peer. Now she felt his ascendancy, and uncon- 
sciously began looking up. 

It was such a rest to have some one to bring 
her questions to, who knew what she meant with- 
out explanation. 

”1 never supposed the ocean would bring me 
the thought of peace,” she said, half aloud, almost 
forgetting his presence. 

“You know about the point of perfect stillness, 
fathoms down, while the waves are lashed into 
fury on the surface? That to me is typical peace, 
a point of repose, of safety, while the earth winds 
are playing havoc above. Tn perfect peace’ means 
shoreless, fathomless content ! T will keep you in 
measureless, exhaustless content,’ is the promise 
that, sweet as a chime of bells, rings out hope and 
cheer, while we are being swept to and fro by the 
bleak hurricanes of earth.” 

“But I am most careless. Is not this breeze 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


457 


becoming too stiff for you? Suppose we seek a 
more sheltered spot upon the lower deck.” 

When cozily seated, Dorothea remarked : “I con- 
fess I objected to the descent, even while my better 
judgment told me that you were right; but I dis- 
cover this truism, that from whatever deck of life 
you look, there is something discernible of interest.” 

“Do you recall the sunsets behind the mountains, 
Mr. Rochester? How all we could get of them was 
a line of light gilding the top, just a hint of glory. 
So I suppose that often all anyone can get from 
us, is just a suggestion of what is possible for man- 
hood and womanhood to attain — but do you know,” 
she was speaking now out of the fullness of her 
heart, “I want to be more than a suggestion of 
help. I want to be of real value.” 

"I almost feel impelled to give you some of 
my inmost thoughts that I have never uttered to 
human ear. Many of them I jotted down in my 
note book.” 

“Please do. I shall feel honored.” 

“This came to me: Because I am a human soul, 
I stand before yon glorious height and say : I am 
mightier than thou, O mountain ! for when thou 
shalt become a plain, and no more rear thy lofty 
head to be kissed by the sunset, I shall live on, 
and on ! 

“I can look out into the vista of the universe 
and say of yon splendid orb that animates all liv- 
ing things, and without whose power we could 
not live : ‘I am mightier than thou, proud luminary, 


458 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


for when sun, and moon, and stars have set, I shall 
live on and on!’ 

“Last year, as I stood by that wonderful thunder- 
ing marvel of creation, and listened to what seemed 
Eternity’s chant, again, and again came the feeling 
of the dignity of the human soul; yet ‘I felt my 
id-entity shrink and contract in the presence of 
Nature’s immensities,’ and such a sense of utter 
nothingness rushed over me, while every part of 
my being seemed pervaded by Infinity. 

“ ‘What is man, that Thou art mindful of him,’ 
came to me. Also a portion of something we learned 
at the school of oratory : 

‘Being above all beings 

Whom none can comprehend or none explore, 
Who fill’st existence with Thyself alone, 
Embracing all, supporting, ruling o’er — 

Being whom we call God! and know no more.’ ” 
Dorothea had listened entranced, but she said 
no word. He had not looked at her, but was con- 
scious of her answering heart throbs. 

“Then succeeded the realization, that grander 
than highest mountain peaks, reflecting riiarvels of 
gleam and glow, more wonderful than the green 
waves capped with white foam, rolling incessantly, 
more sublime than Niagara, is the curious, inde- 
finable, incomprehensible human mechanism, inhab- 
ited by a still finer and more ethereal something 
called — a soul. 

“Then ! looked again at the rushing, foaming, 
maddening water, as it took that tremendous leap, 
and thought within the depths of my being, I 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


459 


am mightier than thou, Niagara! For when thy wall 
has crumbled, and thy sublime song is forever 
hushed, the cadence of my soul shall be heard — 
if I but live nobly.” 

They bade each other good-night shortly after 
that. Dorothea did not want any common words 
to detract from the high thoughts he had given her. 

“What a rare soul he is !” she thought, “and 
yet he is not what the world would term a Christian. 
He is entertaining, full of life, and fun, as anyone 
I ever met. I would not have believed there was 
such a man. I mean, of course, there are better 
men, and all that; but he is so well developed, such 
an all-round character ; not a goody-goody, but a 
strong, true man.” 

Dorothea did not realize whither she was tend- 
ing, even in these admssions to herself. Had she 
done so, she would have mentally boxed her ears 
and resolutely turned in the opposite direction. 


Chapter LX. 


This was the last evening on shipboard, and the 
final meeting of the “Good Fellowship Club.” 
To-morrow they were to separate, going in many 
diverse paths. 

Mr. Rochester had not been near the Secretary 
for three days, and now greeted her with the same 
unfailing courtesy that he accorded every one else. 

•It piqued the proud girl, that after all their 
good talks, he should have no special word for her 
upon the very last night, too. 

In pure retaliation she smiled uppn Mr. Towner, 
who, encouraged by her unusual kindness, asked if 
he might have a little talk with her after the rest 
retired. 

It is unnecessary to linger over this conversa- 
tion, but when Dorothea concluded it, she felt real 
humiliation. 

“If I had not smiled at him this very last even- 
ing, it would have been avoided. Mother always said 
that it was not a thing to boast of, how many pro- 
posals a girl had received ; but rather, when she 
knew there was a strong possibility that it might 
occur, and felt she could not care, the true, noble 
thing to do, was to prevent it ; and I saw it coming 
and yielded. Now I despise myself for being so 
weak !” 


460 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


461 


“Nobody ever will care for me that I care a fig* 
for !” 

She was not thinking of any one person, but 
expressing, the discontent of her nature, she felt 
out of sorts with everything. 

Morning came. Mr. Rochester assisted her, just 
as he did several other ladies who were without an 
attendant, and gave each his card, and a cordial 
hand-shake, as they parted. 

He had not even asked where she was going, 
or anything whatever concerning her future plans. 

Dorothea was angry with herself when she dis- 
covered that she had even noticed the omission. 

“What does it signify to me where /?e goes? I 
am sure I am perfectly indifferent as to his where- 
abouts. I don’t like him lately, anyway! I think 
if he had remained with us much longer I should 
had been thoroughly tired of him. I’m not sure 
but I detest him now ; but it wasn’t real nice of 
him not to show one spark of interest as to my 
destination. But what do I care !” 

“Mr. Towner and the others were gentlemanly 
enough to inquire. Any gentleman would do that!” 

“It is my opinion that Mr. Rochester is a tire- 
some old fellow after all! I am glad he is gone. 
Now I will have some fun, and not try to be deep 
any more. Some way, he called out the thinking- 
side of me ; yet he was full of fun, and how nicely 
he entertained the crowd the other evening when 
he gave that impersonation. He is certainly very 
clever. I wonder if there is anything he can’t do?” 
mentally running over his accomplishments. “Yes, 


462 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


there’s one thing; he cannot make me like him, 
even if he is so — well, I suppose most people would 
say — fascinating. He evidently has not any desire 
for my approbation, but he shouldn’t .have it, if 
he had.” 

And closing her lips firmly, she joined such a 
portion of the party as were to continue to be her 
traveling companions through the Yosemite. 

* * * * 

Mr. Rochester had secured all the information 
he needed regarding Miss Dorothy’s plans, from 
Mr. Towner, so he could afford to appear indif- 
ferent . 

He decided to allow two or three weeks to inter- 
vene before he sought her. 

By consulting his note book, he was enabled to 
locate her at every place she halted, and by taking 
a short cut, he planned to intercept her at one of 
the most interesting points of her travels. 

After filling the interval with arduous literary 
tasks, he now felt free to enjoy a rest, and with 
the eagerness of boyhood, set forth as the knight 
of old, bent upon conquest. 

The time had been a busy one with Dorothea. 
She had worked incessantly, and felt an insatiable 
desire for activity. She wished no time for reflec- 
tion. 

Her wit sparkled out more than ever, and she 
became somewhat careless of the arrows she sent 
forth, where they fell, or whom they wounded. 
She felt indifferent alike to friend or foe. Nothing 
touched her deeply. “I feel don't care a tive about 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


463 


everything, and I’m having another of my old spells 
of wickedness !” exclaimed this patchwork girl, for 
that is what she called herself. “I did not think 
I would become so cranky again. It proves that 
I just care for a good time.” 

A superficial observer would have thought her 
last desire was being realized, for her laugh rang 
out so merrily. 

One day her party had gone to explore a cave, 
and while entering the large room, they encoun- 
tered a guide who was returning with several per- 
sons who had preceded them. The lights were 
insufficient to recognize even those . nearest. Sud- 
denly a gentleman of the other party stopped, for 
that laugh sounded strangely familiar. But it could 
not be — for she was not due in this place for two 
days. He listened intently, but she was silent. To 
grope blindly about a cave after a voice, was some- 
what ludicrous. He waited, but heard nothing until 
just as the party disappeared through another aper- 
ture, he caught again the sound of the voice, which 
he felt would have known in any remote quarter 
of the globe. 

He left his guide without a word, and started 
in the direction of the sound, but in his haste, the 
small candle he carried was extinguished, and he 
sought in vain for an entrance to the next room. 
He listened, but dead silence greeted him. He 
stumbled about a few moments in the darkness, 
then thought it would be wise to retrace his steps, 
find his guide, and give him an extra fee for another 
trip through. 


464 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


“Pon my word ! this is an experience ! I haven’t 
more than one or two matches left. However, I 
guess I can grope my way back to the world again.” 
He lit his candle, but it flickered in the socket, 
though by its aid he discovered a small opening, 
and supposing it to be the one by which he entered, 
he crept carefully through. 

He had advanced but a short distance when he 
was startled by a rushing sound. Striking another 
match revealed his danger, for he stood very near 
what seemed a deep, dark stream. He sprang back 
and groped for the entrance, but as he did so, 
his hand touched something soft. This seemed the 
most alarming part of his adventure. His match 
revealed a small creature. “Wild cat !” was his 
first thought. “And not a weapon of defense!” 

He disliked to have even a tiny light, lest he 
give his enemy the advantage ; still, he might incur 
greater danger by delay. 

The perspiration stood in great drops upon his 
forehead, while he strained every nerve as he 
peered into the darkness. Fortunately he was within 
a step or two of the opening by which he had 
entered. After he had crept through he looked 
back, and by the aid of his small light, discovered 
two wild cats, so young as to be perfectly harm- 
less. However, he had no desire to encounter the 
mother, and was not sorry to find himself back 
in the central room. 

He began to breathe more naturally. “A strange 
thing to take tourists into a cave known to be 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


465 


thus inhabited !” he said aloud, half startled by 
the strangeness of his voice. 

He felt for his last match, it was gone ! 

Roderick Rochester laughed long and loud, hop- 
ing some of the visitors might hear him. But the 
only sound was the reverberation of his own voice. 

He was debating the question as to which was 
the better, to remain stationary and await develop- 
ments, or to grope his way out and encounter more 
dangers. 

But his guide had missed him, and they now 
returned with torches. 

“Great Scot ! Are you safe, man ?” he exclaimed 
excitedly. “You gave us a terrible fright.” 

While he was relating his adventures, another 
party entered, and this time he clearly recognized 
Dorothea’s voice: “Well,- do take me out of this! 
I have always wanted a taste of the weird and fan- 
ciful, and I have certainly seen enough to make me 
feel eerie.” 

“Methinks the fascinations of this spot are 
great !” Rochester said, in a clear voice that rang 
out above the others. It rang through Dorothea’s 
very being. Surely she knew that voice ? She paused 
and listened intently. 

“Come on, Mademoiselle, or you will get lost 
from the party. There are several rooms we do 
not enter, and dark stories are told of a man being 
lost in the lake in yonder room.” 

Rochester waited no longer, but borrowing the 
guide’s torch for a moment, he inspected the com- 


466 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS . 


pany, and catching a glimpse of Dorothea, he went 
straight to her. 

“This is an unexpected meeting, Miss Maddox, 
but permit me to escort you out into the sunshine.” 

“Forevermore !” exclaimed the astonished maiden. 
“Yes, ‘forevermore’ it shall be,” thought Mr. 
Rochester, with a feeling of deep gladness. 

“Well, of all things ! To find you in this spooky 
place ! Must I conclude that you belong to the 
class who ‘love darkness rather than light ?’ ” 

He appropriated her arm as if he had a right 
to. It was the first time he had ever touched her, 
and a thrill ran down to her finger tips. 

He guided her back into the beautiful world, 
then most decorously dropped her arm and lapsed 
into his old reserve. But he was conscious that his 
power had deepened during those moments, and he 
felt exultant. 

Dorothea never looked so blooming before, she 
seemed suddenly to open into a full blown rose. 

“Tell me,” she said impulsively, “how you hap- 
pened to be in that uncanny place?” 

They sat down in a delightful nook, while Roches- 
ter related the whole of his adventure. 

Later, when he bade her good-night, he made 
no plans with her for the ensuing day, and she 
was left guessing as to whether it was a chance 
meeting, and to end thus, or if he would continue 
to journey with them. 

“If he isn’t the most provoking specimen of man- 
kind that I ever encountered! He makes me so 
mad ! Never expressed any surprise at finding me 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


46 7 


in that den of thieves, and when we parted, never 
inquired, as any other man would have done, what 
I expected to do to-morrow, or told me a thing 
of his plans. The most non-commital person I ever 
heard of!” 

“I am sure I hope he will go his way. I don’t 
want him hanging around our crowd the rest of 
the trip. I’ve had just the most fun since he left * 
us !” 

Dorothea gave vent to her feelings by banging 
the door in rather an unladylike manner, and every- 
thing she touched seemed to have a tendency to 
gravitate earthward. 

“I think it is just mean if the rest of my trip 
has to be spoiled by his coming back. I don’t like 
him, so there !” she protested angrily, “and I never 
will, either!” 


Chapter LXI. 


Morning found her in worse spirits than before. 
“I shall not stir out of this poky old hotel all day, 
lest I run into His Honor,” she vowed. 

She resolutely began to write, but after a time, 
the glimpse of Nature visible from her windows, 
wooed her in spite of her resolve, and she slipped 
away from the rest and had one of her solitary 
walks, which she usually found so enjoyable. 

But nothing pleased or interested her to-day. 

When she returned, she asked if anyone had 
called and inquired for her. 

She bit her lips in vexation with herself for even 
asking. “Of course he wouldn’t come !” She was 
very positive ; in fact, morally sure , that no one 
wanted him to ! “He is the most unparalleled exam- 
ple of coolness I ever heard of ! I am sure it is 
perfectly immaterial to me, but it is so exasperating ! 
It is perfectly disgusting ! And he is so gallant about 
everything else ! One flaw in the marble is enough 
for me. I wish Mr. Towner would come back. 
No, I don’t! but he was always nice, although it 
is mean to wish him back just to have a pleasant 
time with, and with all my waywardness, I am not 
quite upon that plane yet!” 

The next day, as Mr. Rochester did not appear, 
468 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


469 


Dorothy concluded he had departed as suddenly 
as he came. 

“Well, if he isn't the freakest of freaks! It is 
a good thing he has gone, for now I can be com- 
fortable again.” 

Just then the servant handed her a note from 
this peculiar freak. She tore it open impatiently. 
“An apology, I should hope, for his absurd way of 
leaving a lady.” 

But it contained nothing of the kind, merely: 
“I will call upon you to-morrow at nine, for a day’s 
trip to one of the springs of Truth.” 

“Indeed he may call — but Miss Dorothy will 
not be found. The very idea of his acting like a 
king ! As if he can go and come at will, with never 
so much as ‘by your leave, Mademoiselle?’ The 
presumptuousness of that man is simply intoler- 
able ! I will show him that he cannot treat me in 
that lordly way.” 

Accordingly, next morning she set forth early with 
several friends. She kept their destination a pro- 
found secret to those remaining behind, lest she be 
followed. 

Never was she in gayer spirits, and, if the truth 
must be told, felt a wicked glow of triumph as she 
realized his disappointment, for it was so keen as 
to reach her by telepathy. 

“Now perchance the tables may turn. I seri- 
ously object to the balance of power being on his 
side.” 

Dorothea returned at night, tired but radiant. 


470 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Mr. Rochester had planned a delightful day, and 
she caught it correctly, he was disappointed. 

He saw her come in, for he had waited to have 
a word with her, but she passed by with her face 
averted, although he knew perfectly well that she 
saw him. 

After careful reflection, he decided that to leave 
again was the only alternative, for to be with her 
constantly would hasten on events faster than she 
was prepared for them. His first impression seemed 
correct, that such a citadel could only be taken by 
stratagem. 

So he penned a courteous note, stating his regret 
in being denied the pleasure of her company yes- 
terday, and that it was more of a disappointment 
because he was obliged to leave in the early 
morning. 

If Dorothea had been angry with herself, it was 
intensified now. 

“There ! That is perfectly characteristic of me. 
How absurd to run off, when we might have had 
an ideal day! Then I was so rude to slight him 
when I came in, and now, I presume, he is going 
away forever !” 

“What an opinion he will always cherish of me, 
and I will never have an opportunity to set it 
right! O it makes me just rage!” 

“The only man who ever understood me,” she 
slowly admitted. “And this is entirely my fault. 
I believe I am lacking in intellect. No one would 
be guilty of such consummate folly who had real 
good sense.” 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


471 


Humiliation, indignation, and regret, strove to- 
gether, and each had a turn of being in the ascend- 
ancy, so that she tossed restlessly even in her sleep. 

“If I had just a moment to explain or apologize,” 
thought Dorothea, as she awakened next morning, 
“but he will think my manners those of a boor.” 

■ The weeks following were tiresome. Dorothea 
had never been so unhappy in her life. She was dis- 
gusted that so trivial a thing should cloud her usu- 
ally sunny nature. 

She was amid beautiful scenery, but it seemed 
to have lost its power to interest. She still led 
the crowd in all the fun, but when she laughed, 
she often felt it was a mockery. 

Still, she never once admitted that she was miss- 
ing anything out of her life. If she had, she would 
probably have committed self-annihilation on the 
spot. She was haunted with remorse over her 
abuse of her opportunity, and when she took time 
to think, it was to heap imprecations upon herself. 
She had entirely forgotten, or was oblivious of the 
fact, that she felt but a short time before that he 
was the one who had the boorish manners, and 
deserved her slights. Such a strange paradox is 
humanity. 


Chapter LXII. 


Some weeks later, Dorothea with a party of 
friends, spent the day among one of the finest 
groups of mountains upon their journey. 

They had witnessed bolder and more sublime 
peaks, but this possessed a grandeur of its own. 

Dorothea longed for solitude, and had wandered 
a short distance from the rest. For the first time 
in weeks, the beauty and the might of the wonders 
in which she moved, touched her. 

She had stopped a few feet from a precipice, 
little dreaming that the storms had washed away 
the earth, and that she stood only upon a thin strata. 

The view held her oblivious of all danger, until 
she was startled by a shout: “Get back! For heav- 
en's sake! Get back!" 

She retreated a short distance, just as the thin 
crust of earth upon which she stood a moment pre- 
vious, gave way. 

A little later, a gentleman of distinguished bear- 
ing came up unobserved behind her, and without a 
second’s warning, caught her in his arms. 

She had not time to remonstrate or utter a word 
in protest, so startled was she by the daring and 
abruptness of the whole thing. 

472 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


473 


“Do not say one word, for if ,you do, I shall 
take the liberty of stopping your speech !”• His 
dark eyes looked deepest, holiest love down into 
her very soul. 

She was dazed by her narrow escape, and it 
was all unreal, some strange, sweet dream, that 
she found herself suddenly in love’s haven of rest, 
otherwise she would have resented the whole 
proceeding. 

They sat down upon a rock, in perfect silence, 
“while her very garments crept and thrilled with 
strange electric life, and both her cheeks grew red, 
then pale.” 

“He said no word, for none was needed — 
Thus ’twas given her to know 
He loved her to the height and depth 
Of his large nature.” 

They sat in that eloquent silence while all unrest 
seemed to die out of her life. 

She had ever spurned all proffered assistance, 
she needed not to lean, but there, under the strange 
new spell, felt that she must have died and gone 
to heaven. 

Thus these two, so eminently fitted to walk life’s 
path together, met upon the heights. 

He had been coming through all his devious 
wanderings to meet this great gift the Divine 
Hand held for him, and through all her girlhood 
days, her life had been a preparation for this hour. 

Many times had their faces been set in direct 
opposition to each other, again and again he had 


474 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


sailed away ove£ the seas, unconscious of her exist- 
ence, but they were destined to meet at last upon 
this high altitude, a fitting place for true manhood 
to enthrone his queen. 

Thus for one crowded hour of glorious life they 
partook of love’s holy sacrament. There among 
the sublimities, they seemed upon consecrated 
ground, and to drink the very elixir of life. 

At last Mr. Rochester, in spite of his wonderful 
happiness, became conscious of an approaching 
storm. 

“We must go!” he said, hastily, and even as he 
spoke, “the storm was abroad in the mountains.” 

Hurrying her onward, they rejoined the rest, but 
in spite of their speed, the party were well sprinkled 
when they reached the hotel. 

“May I see you this evening?” he whispered, as 
he bade her good-by. 

“You may,” her eyes answered. 

All evening guests thronged the parlors, and to 
evade them seemed hopeless, but at length he dis- 
covered a nook on the balcony unoccupied, and led 
her hither. 

“This is not the ideal spot I would have chosen, 
nor could I have taken the liberty I did to-day, had 
not your danger forced the truth from me.” 

“Never has woman’s head rested upon this shoul- 
der. I bring you the homage of an undivided heart. 
It is yours, even though you reject it.” 

“Mrs. Browning has expressed my feeling so 
much more fluently than I can, allow me to quote,” 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


475 


and he repeated, in tones that touched the proud 
girl’s very soul : 

“Go from me, yet I feel that I shall stand 
Hence forward in thy shadow. 

Nevermore alone upon the threshold of my 
door 

Of individual life, I shall command 
The uses of my^ soul, nor lift my head 
Serenely in the sunshine as before, 

The widest land — 

Dooms takes to part us, leaves my heart in thine 
With pulses that beat double, 

What I do and dream includes thee.” 

Dorothea’s face was but dimly visible in the 
moonlight, but in her eyes was shining the serenity 
and pure gladness that every noble woman feels 
when her coronation day has dawned. 

Happily, the guests deserted the parlors and bal- 
cony, and in the few rapturous moments that fol- 
lowed, the impregnable castle had indeed been 
stofmed and captured by as true a knight as ever 
fought for fairest lady. For when they parted, and 
he asked: “Mine forever, my peerless Queen?” 
“Dorothea, forgetting all her waywardness, looked 
every inch a noble woman, ready to wear her crown 
regally, as she gave him the desired answer. 

Love had already subdued her restless, tempest- 
uuos nature, and from the moment of her crowning, 
the transformation began. 

Thus our rose of the prairies became a rose 
enthroned. 


476 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 



THE LOVERS' SHRINE 



A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


477 


“My heart hunger doth but answer his, whose 
thought hath met with mine/’ she wrote in her 
note book. 

And now the girl who had stood upon the door- 
step of her country home and longed for high 
things, had indeed attained an altitude of which 
she dreamed not, and beside her, to inspire and 
lead her onward, was a noble nature that blended 
with her own. 

“I shall return enriched beyond all thought, and 
it will not be a girl’s heart I carry back, but a 
woman’s.’! 

She had never looked so superb as during these 
wonderful days. 

They spent their last day together in a most 
beautiful spot, and what it was to them, can be 
known only to happy lovers. 

As Dorothea began her homeward journey, it 
came to her that she had indeed outwitted the 
entire merry party of friends, who wished to repay 
old scores. 

She resolved to wear no ring and keep it a pro- 
found secret. 

As a parting gift, Mr. Rochester had placed about 
her neck a most exquisite necklace. She wore this 
out of sight, for she could not bear it profaned 
by common eyes. 

Again and again her fingers sought the shrine, 
just to touch the magic gift. 

She looked at herself in a new light. “I am all 
his own now, and I cannot be otherwise than noble. 
I have forever parted company with the wayward, 


478 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


trifling girl who was so often weak. I must be 
white of soul, and live my high aspirations, if I am 
to drink of this sacramental cup.” 

But upon Dorothea’s first visit to Eldah, after 
her arrival home, in spite of all her resolutions, 
their kinship of interest very nearly betrayed her. 

“Dorothea is completely changed !” Eldah re- 
marked to Mr. Kingsley, as they were dining. 

“Her trip was a grand one, and doubtless leaves' 
its impress,” he said, with the density natural to 
manhood when studying the fairer sex. 

“Yes, of course, but she returns a woman, and 
I am just sure I know what has caused the change. 

“You don’t mean to say that our merry girl has 
really been conquered?” 

“No, I prefer to say that she has conquered some 
gallant knight who satisfies her heart. 

“Ah, that is the way with womankind. They 
never will admit that they are not the conquerors.” 

“We are, we conquer first, and you last.” 

“And the last shall be first,” he said, with twink- 
ling eyes. 

The next time Dorothea called, the secret told 
itself, but a vow of profound secrecy was pledged, 
only Mr. Kingsley was to be admitted. “For he 
promised truth upon honor to help me out when 
my turn came, and I shall need you both,” Dorothy 
said. 

* * * * 

A Study in Life Tints — Rain, sunshine, lower- 
ing clouds, the blue of heaven peeping through, 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


479 


heart-breaking sorrows, graves, and love-filled 
lives! This is the story of life. 

Human chemistry is a fascinating study, the pas- 
sion and the pathos of it! 

The secret of being able to accept the cup of 
mixed decoctions called Life, is trust in the great 
compassionate Love, that watches above each lonely 
soul. And faith, that out of every flood of tempta- 
tion or deluge of sorrow, there is a way of escape 
into peace, that is greater than all earthly satis- 
faction. 

Thus, love transforms our sorrows, and above 
the grave of dead hopes and unfilled desires, bend's 
the rainbow, with its beautiful message, that when 
we have mastered these intricate life studies, we 
shall pass on to higher attainments and deeper 
joys. 

But there are moments when the realization of 
wasted opportunities and disheartening failure— in 
playing our part in the great song of the Universe — 
presses us sorely. 

The following is the author’s final word of hope, 
and has been like a starry promise through her 
earthly night. 


480 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


Unfinished Music. 


“I sat alone at the organ, 

At the close of a troubled day, 

When the sunset’s dying embers 
On the western altar lay; 

I was weary with vain endeavor, 

My heart was ill at ease, 

And I sought to soothe my sadness, 

By the voice of those sweet-toned keys. 

My hands were weak and trembling, 

My fingers all unskilled, 

To render the grand old anthem 
With which my soul was filled. 

Through the long days cares and worries, 
I had dreamed of that glorious strain 
And I longed to hear the organ 
Repeat it to me again. 

It fell from my untaught fingers, 
Discordant and incomplete ; 

I knew not how to express it, 

Or to make the discord sweet. 

So I toiled with patient labor, 

Till the last bright beams were gone. 
And the evening’s purple shadows 
Were gathering one by one. 


A STUDY IN LIFE TINTS. 


481 


Then a Master stood beside me 
And touched the noisy keys, 

And lo! the discord vanished, 

And melted into peace. 

I heard the great organ pealing, 

My tune that I could not play, 

The strains of that glorious anthem 
That had filled my soul all day. 

Down through the dim cathedral 
The tide of music swept — 

And through the shadowy arches 
The lingering echoes crept; 

And I stood in the purple twilight 
And heard my tune again, 

Not my feeble, untaught rendering, 

But the Master’s perfect strain ! 

So I think, perchance, the Master 
At the close of life’s weary day, 

Will take from our trembling fingers, 

The tunes that we could not play. 

He ivill hear through the jarring discords — 
The strains — although half expressed — 
He will blend it in perfect music 
And add to it all the rest.” 

























































































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